Deku: The Telekinetic Hero
by sremiehzla
Summary: Inheriting the Quirk 'Telekinesis' from his mother and being trained personally by All Might, Izuku Midoriya has the chance to attend U.A. High School and achieve his dream of becoming a hero! There he meets a girl, and they change each other's lives. AU. Quirk!Izuku, IzuOcha. Rated M for eventual themes and safety.
1. Not All Men Are Created Equal

_I do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _Not All Men Are Created Equal_

It all began in China, in Quingping City. There was news that a child had been born, who gave off a bright light. Ever since then, these superpowers were discovered in various places more and more frequently. Time passed, and yet no cause was ever determined. Before the world knew it, the supernatural became mundane and dreams became reality. The world has become a superhuman society, and now, 80% of the population of the world had some unique trait. In this world, naturally whirling with chaos, the profession that many once dreamed about came into the limelight. That profession is... _Superheroism!_

Along with the superpowers came an explosive increase in crime. As the nations of the world were stuck in the slow process of drastic law reforms to accommodate these abilities, courageous people started performing heroic acts like the ones in comic books. Guarding against superpowers and defending against evil. Heroes were soon accepted by the public, and it was established as an official position of law enforcement. Based on their performance, they were paid by the government and gain renown among the masses.

Of these masses, there was one boy who wanted to be a hero more than anybody else. His name is Izuku Midoriya.

_

"Kacchan! Please, stop this, or I won't forgive you!"

A small boy with green hair stood between a group of 3 kids and another one who was on the ground, crying.

"Yeah, or what?" The leader of the group, Katsuki Bakugo, laughed, slamming his fist into his other hand's palm and releasing a small explosion with it. "The hell are you gonna do about it, useless Deku?"

The boy on Katsuki's left extended his fingers to be as long as his whole body, while the one on his right grew red wings out of his back.

"Y-You'll see!" The green haired boy, Izuku Midoriya, shouted defiantly. "When I get my Quirk, you'll regret this!"

"Oi, you still think you'll get a Quirk, Deku?" Katsuki yelled, eyes bulging with amusement. "You're the only one in our class that hasn't gotten his Quirk yet! I haven't ever heard of someone's Quirk manifesting at your age, so just face it! You'll never get one, and you'll be a useless Deku for your whole life!" Katsuki began lazily walking towards Izuku.

"No! You're wrong!" Izuku screamed, tears poking at his eyes. "T-The doctor said it should appear any day now!"

Katsuki broke into a run at Izuku, followed by his two partners-in-crime, laughing, "Then stop me with that amazing Quirk that you don't have!"

As they approached him, Izuku shut his eyes and held up his arms to brace himself. "Kacchan! Stop, go away!"

Without thinking, Izuku shoved his arms out at his classmates in an instinctive reaction. He was surprised when, instead of a burning, blunt force to his face, he was only met with screams.

"Wh-What the hell?!" he heard Katsuki's voice yell.

Izuku was so in shock of the unexpected turn of events that he couldn't even open his eyes for a few seconds. When he did though, he saw his 3 preschool classmates floating in midair, surrounded by a soft green glow. His own hands were also surrounded by a similar glow. He couldn't see it, but his own eyes shined more brightly as well. Izuku became aware that he could feel some sensation from somewhere he hadn't felt before, deep inside.

"Deku!" Katsuki yelled. "What the hell is this?"

"Is... Is this...?" Izuku's face slowly lit up as he realized. "Is this my Quirk?!"

But, at that moment, the glow disappeared from his hands and the group of bullies, and Izuku's fate was sealed.

"Really?" Katsuki teased, laughing. "After taking so damn long to get your Quirk, I was expecting something decent at least! You postponed this for a few seconds, but you're still not worth anything in the end, Deku!"

With one stride forward, Katsuki drove his fist into Izuku's stomach, releasing a small 'pop' against him. Laughing, the other two ran up as well and began to kick at Izuku's prone body. Izuku could barely see from between his hands and with the occasional foot to his face, but he made out the figure of the other boy running away.

At that moment, Izuku smiled. He smiled because he knew that now, he had a Quirk. He had a Quirk, and he used it to help someone in need. Even if he had to be hurt himself, he still had a Quirk that could be used to save others. He could be a hero, like he always dreamed, and save people with a smile on his face. That is why Izuku Midoriya smiled through the pain of being beaten by the other kids. Because he knew that he could be a hero.

_

Even though the origin of Quirks was unknown, the world was able to learn plenty about Quirks and how they worked. In very rare cases, individuals could mutate a brand new and unique Quirk. It was rare, but it could happen. More often though, Quirks were passed down hereditarily. Children normally would manifest their Quirks by age four, and they could be passed down from either parent, or a combination of the two's Quirks. If the Quirk was a combination, it would be it's own unique Quirk, of course. But if the Quirk was passed from only one parent, then it was usual for the child's Quirk to be stronger in some way. This was the case with Izuku Midoriya's Quirk.

He got it from his mother, although her telekinesis was very limited. She, at most, could make one small object move towards her at a time. She couldn't push them away, she couldn't hold them in place, and she couldn't do it to anything larger than her purse.

But since Izuku inherited only from her Quirk and not his father's, which was the ability to breath fire, his telekinesis was much more advanced from the start. He could pull things toward him, like his mother, but also push them, hold them in place, raise, lower, twist and turn them. He could hold multiple objects in midair at once and move them independently of each other. Of course, he still had his limits. Those limits were determined by the weight of the objects, rather than something like the size. When his Quirk first manifested, he was able to lift up 3 preschoolers for a few seconds. As he grew up, however, his Quirk naturally strengthened and he became used to using it. At the time of his third year of attendance at Aldera Junior High, lifting up something like the kitchen table for an extended period of time wasn't too much trouble. He could even almost lift his mother's car a few inches off of the ground for a second.

And that's where this story began: Aldera Junior High.

_

"Well, you're all in your third year, so it's time to get serious with thinking about your futures," the teacher announced. "I have the course recommendation forms right here, but... Oh, who am I kidding? You're all going for the hero course, right?!"

He was meet with an enthusiastic "Yes sir!" simultaneously from every student, who began showing off their quirks. Even Izuku, who enthusiastically raised his pencil and his notebook, which was titled ' _Hero Analysis for the_ _Future_ ', along with his hand.

"Ah, very good!" The teacher exclaimed. "You all have such wonderful Quirks! But just remember, it's against school rules to use your Quirks in the classroom."

Izuku was the only student who seemed to notice the reference to the rule being broken, immediately deactivating his Quirk.

"'You all have wonderful Quirks,' eh?" Katsuki Bakugo, who was in Izuku's class, remarked snarkily. "You shouldn't lump us all together like that. I'm not gonna stay stuck at the bottom like the rest of these rejects!"

"That was uncalled for Katsuki!" "How rude!" "Arrogant bastard!" The whole class exploded in anger at Katsuki, while Izuku just sighed and ignored his usual cockiness.

"You should all shut your damn mouths, like the extras you are!" Katsuki laughed mockingly.

"Oh, you're applying for U.A. if I remember, isn't that right Katsuki?" The teacher remarked, flipping through a clipboard.

"Eh? The national school?" "They were in the top 0.2% this year!" "But their acceptance rate is... super low!" The anger towards Katsuki quickly became admiration, while Izuku suddenly became scared that his teacher would mention that he also wanted to attend U.A.

"Exactly! And that's why you're all extras!" Katsuki announced to the whole class before jumping onto his desk. "I aced the mock test! I'm the only one from this school who has any chance at getting into U.A.! I'll surpass All Might, and definitely become the #1 Hero! My name with be inscribed in the list of top earners!"

"Oh yeah," the teacher said, looking at his clipboard.

' _Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no! No no no no no!_ ' Izuku screamed inwardly, dreading the inevitable.

"Midoriya wants to attend U.A. too, right?"

' _Shit!_ '

Looking around, Midoriya saw many looks of shock. What surprised him was that a few of his classmates were smiling at him and giving him thumbs up. That almost made up for what Bakugo was about to do.

"Huuurreegh!" Katsuki screamed as he slammed his hand on Izuku's desk, cracking the wood with an explosion and causing Izuku to fall out of his chair. "Hey, Deku! You're the worst of these rejects! You can't even fight back with your damn stupid Quirk! How could you ever stand on the same level as me?!"

"W-Wait, Kacchan!" Izuku sputtered, crawling back against the wall. "I'm not trying to compete with you or anything! Honest!.. It's just... It's been my dream to be a hero since I was little..."

"Following that dream still?" Katsuki said mockingly, smoke coming from his hands. "Are you taking the exam just for fun or some shit?! What the hell can you do? Make shit float?"

A few chuckles came from the mass of students behind Katsuki.

"I-I can at least try to be a support hero though," Izuku tried to reason.

"Yeah, sure! Try getting into U.A.'s hero program with a damn supporting Quirk!" Katsuki grinned and laughed uncontrollably.

' _Yeah_ _, this'll be a fun day,_ ' Izuku thought.

_

After the school day, which seemed to drag on extra long, Izuku was finally almost ready to head home.

"Wow! That hero Mt. Lady's debut from this morning is all over the news!" Izuku muttered to himself. "I'll have to write down everything about it when I get home!"

Izuku finally got up from his desk, and was about to put his notebook into his backpack when Katsuki grabbed it right out of his hand.

"Kacchan!" Izuku gasped in surprise and confusion.

"We're not done talking, Deku," he grunted, staring Izuku down condescendingly.

"Katsuki, what's that?" One of Katsuki's lackeys, the one who could extend his fingers, asked in reference to the notebook. "Huh... _Hero Analysis for the Future_? Seriously?!" He laughed along with the other one of Katsuki's lackeys who just sighed, "Midoriya..."

"It's fine, isn't it?" Izuku said, putting his hand out to Katsuki. "P-Please, give it back."

Katsuki slapped an explosion onto it between his hands, burning the outside and edges of the notebook.

"AAAHH!" Izuku shrieked in panic. "That's mean!"

Katsuki threw the notebook out of the window, not even looking back at it. Izuku lunged at the window, holding his hand out and catching the notebook with his telekinesis before it hit the water below.

As Izuku brought the notebook back up to their classroom, Katsuki went on, "Most top first-string heroes have stories about them from their school days. I want to be called the only student from this mediocre Junior High School that has the stuff to make it to U.A. I mean, I _am_ a perfectionist." Katsuki gripped Izuku's shoulder tightly as the green haired bit still looked away, heating up his hand to make smoke rise from it. "So, don't apply to U.A., nerd."

Izuku couldn't say anything. He just stood there, shaking from what Katsuki wrongly thought was fear.

"C'mon, you should at least say something back," Lackey #1 laughed as they all walked towards the classroom door.

"Nah, he's too pathetic," Lackey #2 laughed as well. "He can't even respond to reality!"

Katsuki suddenly stopped at the exit and turned around. "You know, there _is_ a quick way to become a hero, if you want. Just hope to have a useful fucking Quirk in your next life, and jump off of a building!"

For a split second, Izuku's restraint snapped, and he quickly turned toward Katsuki, raising his hand.

Katsuki raised his own hand, setting off explosions as he grinned and slowly said, "What is it, Deku?"

Izuku reigned in his anger for the moment. He'd show Katsuki, just not yet. Not now, and not like this. Katsuki scoffed and walked off, once again mistaking Izuku's shaking for fear.

_

Izuku examined his 13th hero notebook as he walked home. Thankfully, all of the pages were intact, so Katsuki had really accomplished nothing. Even though it turned out fine, Izuku was in a bad mood. Even though he knew that Katsuki was wrong, the fact that he hated Izuku that much still hurt, so he decided to take the long route home.

 _'Damn stupid Kacchan... I'll show you how stupid you are. You'll see...'_

Izuku wanted to chuckle a little at the thought of Katsuki finding out about how he was training his Quirk. As he approached an underpass, he forced a laugh, and, in the hopes of raising his spirits, he decided to imitate the laugh of All Might, the #1 hero and his personal idol. Through the echoes of his laugh reverberating in the underpass, he barely noticed the clanking of metal as the manhole cover behind him was rattled by a strange green liquid.

"Ah, a medum-sized vessel..." A raspy, cold voice sent chills down Izuku's spine. "It'll do!"

Izuku whipped around, raising his hands in defense instinctually. But, before he could even think, he was covered and wrapped up in a green, sticky goop.

"Relax, kid," the voice said, prompting Izuku to look up and see two eyes floating in the fluid. "I just need to borrow your body for a moment... It will only hurt for a minute before you stop feeling anything anymore!"

' _A-A villain?!_ ' Izuku started panicking, groping at the goo that was trying to flow into his mouth.

"You can't grab me, I'm fluid!" The villain exclaimed, laughing.

 _'Then... I guess now is the time to see if my Quirk training has paid off!'_

Izuku closed his eyes, relaxed his arms and legs, and stopped gasping for air.

"Oh, I really like the submissive type," the sludge villain chuckled. "It's a shame I need to stop your life right here!"

Izuku clenched his hands, focusing on his own body. After only a moment, he got his grip and a light green glow formed around him.

"Wh-What's happening?" the villain gasped, trying to hold Izuku in. "What's with this force?!"

 _'Use my telekinesis to grab myself, and... PUSH! WITH EVERYTHING I HAVE!'_

Izuku pushed his body out of the fluid with incredible force, still glowing and floating in the air for a moment after, before deactivating his Quirk and landing on the concrete.

"Y-YOU!" the villain stuttered in disbelief. "You shouldn't have been able to escape!"

Without saying anything, Izuku reached out and gripped the villain with his telekinesis, restricting his movement and stopping him from escaping.

"Wh-What are you doing?!" the sludge villain shrieked, struggling to touch the ground and run away.

"It's simple," Izuku said while catching his breath, keeping his attention on the floating ball of goop in front of him. "If you were so desperate to get into a vessel, then I assume you were being chased by a hero. I just need to hold you until–"

Izuku was cut off when the manhole cover that the sludge villain came from was suddenly blasted up from the ground with immense force.

"N-No!" The villain shrieked, struggling even more against Izuku's Quirk.

 _'This is bad,'_ thought Izuku. _'I've held him up for a while, and he's struggling a lot. On top of using telekinesis on myself, I'm running out of steam. It's easier to hold him because he's liquid, but still... I just need to focus... As long as the hero isn't All Might or something, I should be–'_

" **I AM HERE!** " All Might's unmistakeable voice shouted out as his bulky body jumped up from the sewer. Then, he noticed Izuku holding the sludge villain. " **A-Ah, I see I've inconvenienced you due to my distracted heroing, citizen!** "

"A-A-A-A-ALLL MIIIIGHT!!!" Izuku shrieked, losing control of his telekinesis for a moment and allowing the villain to flee.

" **Oh, no you don't!** " All Might yelled as he rushed passed the villain to its front, and delivered a powerful punch, " ** _TEXAS SMASH!_** " that sent the villain splattering across the street.

"A-All M-M-Might..?" Izuku stammered, pointing at the pro hero in disbelief.

All Might took 2 empty 2-liter soda bottles out of a plastic bag, crouched down, and began to move around the street in blurring speeds. After about 5 seconds, the street was clean and the bottles were filled with green fluid, which All Might promptly placed in his pockets.

" **AHAHAHAHAA!** " All Might bellowed throatily, pointing a thumbs-up at Izuku. " **I thank you for assisting me in capturing this villain!** "

"A-A-A- Of c-c-course!" Izuku stammered, before realizing, "I NEED YOUR AUTOGRAPH PLEASE!" and bowing stiffly.

" **Ah, of course! I'd be happy to give you my signature!** " As Izuku fumbled around for his notebook and a pen, All Might continued, " **I truly must apologize for getting you involved in that! I normally don't make rookie mistakes, but I suppose I was just over-excited as I haven't ever been around here before now!** "

Izuku presented an empty page of his notebook and a pen to All Might, who signed it promptly. But instead of handing it back to Izuku, he hestiated.

 _'I have some time left,'_ All Might thought. " **May I ask why it is that your notebook is... burnt?** " he asked Izuku.

"A-Ah, that..." Izuku glanced at the notebook before looking back up at All Might. "Um... One of my friends... destroyed it by accident."

" **What kind of 'accident' results in fire?** "

"Well, it was a Quirk accident. W-Well, I mean... The Quirk part wasn't an accident, but the notebook just... ended up in between there."

" **Ah, I see,** " All Might sighed. He looked at the front cover of the notebook, and his eyes widened in surprise. 'Hero Analysis for the Future _, huh? Interesting...'_ All Might flipped through the pages, much to Izuku's inward terror. ' _Shit... These notes are really in-depth! These are too. This is #13? If a villain got their hands on these notes... And on the other 12, too!_ '

"Um... A-All Might, I h-have a question!" Izuku stammered, ignoring the fact that his idol was looking at his most embarrassing hobby.

" **A-Ah, yes, of course!** " All Might replied, handing back the notebook. " **But, please make it quick! I'm actually running short on time.** "

Izuku liked to think that he was confident with himself. With his Quirk. But, even though he knew that Katsuki was full of shit, he was still affected by the constant berating more than he'd admit. And more than he knew.

"R-Right, I'll make it quick..." Izuku gathered up his courage and breathed in deeply, before asking. "C-Can someone like me... I mean, with my Quirk, could... I mean... Can someone become a hero with a quirk like mine?!"

" **Eh? I-Is that what...** " All Might stared at Izuku in confusion, before letting out a hearty laugh. " **AHAHAHAHAHAA! Is that what you're worried about?! Of course! From what I've seen, your Quirk is plenty worthy of a hero! I didn't just see you holding that villain. To be honest, I watched you for a moment from the sewer grate! AHAHAHAHAHA!** "

"R-Really?!" Izuku yelped, thinking about All Might having seen his Quirk completely in action.

But, the praise was too much, and tears of joy began running down Izuku's face. Even though Izuku already knew... To be told by one's idol that you can accomplish your biggest dream would be a life-changing experience for anyone.

" **Yes! The way you manipulated your own body as well as that of the villain were each impressive on their own! However, you did both! You truly have great potential in that Quirk of yours!** "

Izuku collapsed to his knees, clutching at his chest and sobbing. "Th-Thank you... ALL MIGHT!"

All Might placed a hand on Izuku's head, before saying, " **I must go now! But, never give up on that dream! Achieve it!** **I hope to work with you as a fellow hero one day, so keep at it! I'll see ya around!** " With a small salute, All Might launched himself into the air, leaving Izuku sobbing on the ground. ' _That kid... He might be the one... But, I don't know much about his personality. Besides, with that sobbing he doesn't seem very courageous. Well, I'll keep an eye on– Wait, did I get his name?_ '

Izuku slowly rose and wiped his eyes dry on his sleeve. He could do it. For the first time since his Quirk first manifested, he was sure that he could be a hero. He resumed walking homeward. He went slowly, not anymore because he wanted to settle down from Katsuki, but because he wanted his meeting with All Might to sink in before he went home to his mother.

_

Izuku was just a minute or two away from his house when his attention was caught by an explosion. He looked to his right, and saw a black plume of smoke just a few blocks away. Without even thinking about being late, he ran over to see what the commotion was. When he reached the shopping center, his heart almost stopped when he saw the sludge villain wreaking havoc on multiple pro heroes.

' _He must've escaped from All Might!'_ Izuku thought. ' _Where the heck even is All Might?!_ ' Izuku looked around, but the only person sticking out in the crowd was an emaciated blond man that just happened to be wearing the same white t-shirt and grey pants as All Might was that day.

"Hey, why aren't the heroes moving in?" the person next to Izuku asked another, catching Izuku's interest.

"Apparently," the other person said in a worried tone, "the villain took a middle schooler hostage."

Izuku immediately panicked and pushed through the crowd to get to the safety barriers. He looked for anyone being held hostage, but couldn't make anything out for a few seconds, until he saw...

' _Kacchan!_ '

Without a second thought, Izuku vaulted over the safety barrier and ran towards the villain holding Katsuki Bakugo. He could hardly hear the heroes yelling after him over his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

' _Wh-What the hell am I doing?!_ ' Izuku thought as he ran. ' _My legs are moving on their own! Stop, damnit!_ '

The villain spotted Izuku running at him and laughed, "Ohoho, are you back for more? Sorry, but I've already found a better vessel than yours, so I'll just _kill_ you instead!"

' _Shit! I gotta think, think, think!_ ' Izuku thought frantically.

' _I'm so damn pathetic..._ ' thought the emaciated man behind the crowd.

' _That's it! Page 25!'_ Izuku took his backpack from his shoulder and threw it at the villain. ' _Distract!_ '

' _I'm_ _pathetic..._ '

As the contents of Izuku's backpack flew through the air, he used his telekinesis to aim his school supplies into the villain's eyes.

"AARGH! I CAN'T SEE, YOU DAMN KID!" the villain yelled, momentarily removing the fluid from Katsuki's mouth to rub his eyes.

' _I'm so completely pathetic!_ '

"Kacchan!" Izuku yelled as he reached the villain, throwing his hands into the fluid. "I got you!"

"Dumbass Deku!" Katsuki yelled furiously. "I can't even blast my way out, so what the fuck can you do?!"

Izuku didn't say anything else. He just focused on pulling Katsuki out, and a soft glow soon shined through the green fluid.

"I DON'T NEED YOUR DAMN HELP!" Katsuki screamed at Izuku, before being wrenched from the villain by Izuku's Quirk.

' _How can I deserve the title of #1 hero if this is how pathetic my resolve is?_ ' The body of the emaciated man, standing behind the crowd, began to fill with muscle and power as smoke flew off of his body.

Izuku grabbed Katsuki from midair and pulled him with both his arms and his Quirk simultaneously, which lightened the load on each. And then, Izuku smiled. He smiled because he knew that he had a Quirk that could help others. He knew that he could be a hero.

But then, Izuku saw a white blur flash by. He deactivated his Quirk, setting Katsuki down on his feet, and turned around.

"Why the hell did–?" Katsuki started yelling at Izuku, but cut himself off when he also saw.

All Might was in a lunge, reeling back his arm. " **DETROOOOIT... SMAAASH!!** " All Might threw his fist into the villain, causing him to splatter all around the street and stores. The immense force of All Might's strength blew a huge wind pressure out in all directions, causing both of the boys, the other heroes, and the crowd to stagger back. The clouds whirled around in the sky and collected over the scene, before sending down a light rain pour.

"Is this... rain?" "He changed the weather with his wind pressure!" "Well, that's All Might for you!" The crowd outside of the shopping district cheered and gawked at All Might.

Izuku and Katsuki, however, just stood in shock, staring at the large man. All Might slowly turned toward the two boys, and gave them a thumbs up, showing them his wide smile.

Quickly, the boys were surrounded by the press and heroes. Katsuki was praised for his bravery and perseverance, and for having such a flashy Quirk. Izuku received some light scolding from the heroes for being reckless, but was also praised by them and the press for rescuing Katsuki.

"Could you tell us why you jumped in to save the other boy?" One lady asked, holding up a microphone to Izuku.

"Ah-Ahh... I... My legs just... started running on their own, and I... It just happened," he stuttered nervously.

"Ah, I see... thanks for your time, erm... Do you mind giving us your name? You don't have to."

"No, it's fine. I'm Izuku Midoriya."

"Well, thank you for for time, Midoriya!"

Izuku wanted to talk to All Might, too, but he was surrounded by the news at the moment, and Izuku was already satisfied with their earlier conversation. So, he headed home.

_

"Oi, Deku!" Katsuki yelled, running up behind Izuku before he could make his way home.

"Yeah, Kacchan?" Izuku asked, turning around. He was in too good of a mood to feel intimidated or angry at his old friend.

"I'll admit that your Quirk ain't completely worthless, but it still isn't _shit_ compared to mine!" Katsuki yelled, waving his fist at Izuku. "I don't owe you _shit_ , because I didn't _need_ your help! This changes _nothing!_ "

Katsuki turned around, hands in his pockets and grumbling to himself, and walked toward his house. Izuku once again wanted to laugh at his friend's attitude, but he held it in this time. He continued his own walk home until, at an intersection, he was met with the large form of All Might.

" **I AM HERE!** " All Might stated loudly.

"A-A-A-ALL M-MIGHT?!" Izuku shouted, falling back on his butt. "Wh-What are you doing h-here?!"

" **I was not satisfied with our last talk, young man! And also, I don't believe I ever got your name.** "

"A-Ah-Ah, it's I-Izuku Midoriya!"

" **Well, Young Midoriya! Earlier, I told you that you can be a hero. That your Quirk was worth of being one. But, having a strong Quirk is a poor argument for becoming a hero!** "

"W-What do you mean?"

" **What do I mean? When that villain had taken the boy, there were multiple professional heroes there who hesitated to take action! You, however, did not! Even though you told me that you're unsure of your ability, you didn't hesitate to jump in and save a life! You know, most pro heroes have stories about their deeds before they were heroes! What do these stories have in common, you ask? They all happened when those heroes jumped into action before they even realized what happened. It was the same here, wasn't it? Your legs moved before you even realized?** "

"Y-Y-Y-Yes, All Might!"

" **Today, you were the most heroic person there, Young Midoriya! I said earlier that you can be a hero, but I now see that you have what it takes to become one of the greatest heroes of all time! So please, allow me to foster your growth! I can help you become that hero! So, what do you say? Will you train under me?** "

"W-W-Wait, what?!" Izuku shrieked, perfectly aware that there was no way this was actually happening and he was probably dreaming. "T-That's a lot to drop on me at once!"

" **AHAHAHAHAHA! There's more to drop on you, but don't worry! Not all at once! Listen, here's the thing** " All Might crouched down next to Izuku, who was sobbing now. " **I must know now. If you accept, then we will begin Saturday. I will also impart onto you a secret of mine, though I cannot do that if you decline. This is a lot, but I** –"

"Of course!" Izuku cried, wiping his eyes with his sleeve before smiling up at All Might. "I'll train under you, All Might!"

" **Very well!** " All Might thundered, standing back up to his full height. " **Saturday** **morning at 5 A.M., meet me at the Dagoba Municipal Beach Park! You don't need to bring anything except for yourself! I'll go over the specifics of your training tomorrow, so that's all I have to say for now!** "

"All Might... Thank you!" Izuku said, his tears replaced with a look of determination. "I won't let you down!"

" **I'll see you then!** " All Might said, as smoke started coming off of his body. _'Shit.'_

Without another word, All Might rocketed away, leaving Izuku alone in his excitement and glee. At that moment, Izuku decided that, even if this _was_ a dream, it was the best dream he'd ever have. But of course, this was no dream. This is the story of how Izuku Midoriya became the world's greatest hero, and also how he became part of the world's greatest hero duo.

_

 **Notes: Alright, I hope you guys enjoyed this little first chapter! Already some changes here. Because Izuku has a Quirk, he feels even more sour towards Katsuki than in canon, which is the first thing. Also, All Might didn't reveal himself to Izuku! Why? Well in the canon, Izuku passed out when All Might saved him. That led to All Might waiting for him to regain consciousness, taking up his time. In this, no such thing happened, so All Might had no need to rush things like he did normally.**

 **The fact that Izuku has a Quirk has made him a little less wimpy in general. A little more confident, at least enough so that he can hold a conversation with a stranger. That extra confidence may influence things with Ochako down the line too, _ahem_. Anyways, they won't "get together" for a while. I'll let you know that the anime has already gotten that far, at least.**

 **Any questions? I'd be happy to answer anything! Anyway, feedback and input are greatly appreciated! See you in the next chapter!**


	2. Some Things Are Meant To Be

**H** **ey there guys! Glad to see some feedback on that first chapter! I know it's cliche, but I really do appreciate every single comment. I know many of you are skeptical, and I want to address any concerns ASAP.**

 **For those concerned with the fact that Katsuki kept bullying Izuku although he has a Quirk, I see where you're coming from, for sure. When I was writing, my thought process went about what I thought Katsuki's character would do in the situation. Since it's been made clear in canon that his pride wouldn't allow for anything to happen that makes him look weak, I thought he'd probably just keep going with the bullying once he started. It'd make him look kinda dumb to stop at that point, or at least he'd think it would. He'd have to admit he was wrong, after all. Really, it'd become more habit than anything else over time. As for why Izuku never stood up to him...** **That'll be explained later.** **Katsuki's motivation is almost unchanged.** **He knows about Izuku's Quirk, but he still doesn't know how strong it is. The whole "You lied to me, you're looking down on me" thing is still the case.** **Izuku's motivation in regards to Katsuki is pretty much completely different. He wants to get back at Katsuki more than anything** **. That'll play into everything kinda interestingly.**

 **If you're wondering whether Izuku will get One for All, the answer is maybe. I'll at least say that All Might _plans_ to pass it on to him.**

 **Why did the sludge villain escape All Might? I don't think that Izuku was unconscious for too long in canon, so All Might was still worried about his time limit. I know Izuku knocked it out of All Might's pants, but All Might actually says he dropped it because he was too focused on his time limit. So I figured why not?**

 **And about Izuku getting through situations too easily? I was honestly a little worried at first too, although I was actually willing to make him totally OP if it got to that. But worry not! I prewrote the first 8 chapters of this before even posting the first one, so I can say that he will meet his fair share of problems. And just _thinking_ about how he'll handle Muscular later on is giving me a headache.**

 **Again, I'm glad to respond to any concerns you guys have! And if it's something that you really just can't get over, then I'm really sorry about that. But I'm only really writing this for fun, so I don't think it's the end of the world if I'm a bit inconsistent. That being said, I do hope you enjoy each chapter that I put out!**

 _I_ _do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _Some Things Are Meant To Be_

"Hey, Mom!" Izuku called out as he arrived at their apartment. "I'm home!"

"IZUKU!" his mother, Inko Midoriya, cried out as she ran to him and gripped him up into a tight hug.

Inko Midoriya was still almost as youthful and fit as she was 10 years before. She had been worried about Izuku before he developed his Quirk. In fact, she probably would have taken to stress eating if Izuku had remained quirkless. It was moments like these, though, that made her wonder if she should be stress eating anyway.

"Wh-What's wrong, Mom?" Izuku stammered, almost having forgotten about the villain attack because of his encounter with All Might.

"Y-You were l-late and th-the TV was o-on and th-there was a v-villain attack, a-and y-you–!"

"Mom!" Izuku cut her off, grabbing her shoulders to steady her. "Calm down, I'm fine!"

"T-They interviewed you, and I heard about everything!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot that they asked me a question."

"HOW DO YOU FORGET THAT?" Inko shrieked. "Were you hit on the head?! Where is it, sweetie? I can fix it!"

"N-No, I wasn't hit on the head!" Izuku couldn't help but laugh at his mom's hysteria. "Actually, today turned out to be one of the best days of my life."

"Eh? Because you were rescued by All Might?"

"No... But that did have to do with it, I guess."

Izuku proceeded to tell his Mom about the events of the day. Of course he left out Katsuki's regular stupidity, and instead began with his first encounter with the sludge villain. He told her how he defended himself against the villain and how All Might told him that he could be a great hero. He told her how he then saved Katsuki from the same villain, and the speech that All Might provided him just a few minutes ago.

"He's... going to TRAIN YOU?!" Inko screeched in disbelief. "A-All Might is going to... personally train you..."

"Yeah, isn't it great?" Izuku beamed, unable to contain his happiness.

"THAT'S AMAZING!" Inko cried, hugging her son. "I'm so happy for you! Tonight, I'm making the best katsudon ever!"

"Oh, I can't wait!" Izuku said, his mouth watering. "Well, I'm going to do my homework right now."

"Alright, Izuku. I'm going to put on dinner in just a bit." Inko patted his head, before he got up and brought his backpack to his room.

_

After dinner and before going to bed, Izuku stood in front of a punching bag, which was hung from the ceiling of the 3rd bedroom in his apartment. At least, it was supposed to be a 3rd bedroom. It was never used since Izuku was an only child, and was just filled with boxes as time went on. About a year and a half prior to now, Izuku decided that he wanted to develop his Quirk in some new ways and converted the room to a training room. There was a weight machine and some dumbells in the room that accumulated over time, along with the punching bag that Izuku stood in front of now.

' _Alright... I need to control this now,'_ Izuku thought to himself as he breathed in. ' _I don't know if I'll be able to practice this once I start training under All Might._ '

Izuku brought back his right arm and focused on it with his mind. Slowly, his arm began to glow with a soft green light. He opened his eyes, which were also glowing, to focus on the bag in front of him.

' _Move my arm... RIGHT THERE!_ '

Izuku used his telekinesis to shoot his arm into the punching bag. The force of the hit generated a loud *thwack* and the bag was thrown off of the chain that held it to the ceiling. Izuku's hand barely felt it, supported by the force of his Quirk, but the amount of focus it took to confine his Quirk to just his arm and then to move it was very tiring.

' _Damnit! How can I get more force into this?_ '

Izuku began rapidly muttering to himself, thinking up and swatting down ideas out loud. He didn't even notice when his mother walked in.

"Izuku?" Inko tapped Izuku's shoulder, breaking his muttering. "You should get to bed if you want to be rested for school tomorrow, alright?"

"O-Okay, Mom. Sorry, I lost track of time."

"It's fine, just get some sleep now."

Izuku went to his bedroom and set his alarm. He fell into a peaceful sleep, feeling glad that he would be able to train with his idol, All Might. But he didn't know what kind of hell the next 10 months would be.

_

"Welcome to Dagoba Municipal Beach Park, Young Midoriya."

Izuku, who had shown up to the beach 15 minutes early, was surprised to hear a voice. He looked around until his eyes landed on a blond emaciated man standing on the sand. His clothes were extremely baggy.

"You... I saw you at the incident with the sludge villain the other day!" Izuku exclaimed in recognition.

"O-Oh, you saw me there?" the man stuttered, obviously nervous about something.

"Yeah... Are you a friend of All Might's?" Izuku asked, approaching the man.

"Well, I suppose you could say that!" the man exclaimed, laughing before coughing up a small bit of blood.

"AACK, ARE YOU OKAY?" Izuku shrieked as the man wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Of course I am, Young Midoriya! My name is Toshinori Yagi, and I'll be helping you train for this week." Toshinori held his hand out to Izuku.

"Oh, um... It's nice to meet you, Mr. Yagi," Izuku said politely, shaking hands with the man. "I thought that All Might would be here, though."

"If you can make it through this week," Toshinori said with a grin, "then All Might will come. And he'll share that secret with you then, as well."

"A-Alright, sir! I see! So... What will we be doing this week?"

"Well, do you see all of this garbage?" Toshinori asked, pointing behind himself at the beach, which was covered in what looked like a small dump.

"Yes..."

"Well... For some reason, the tide washes up a lot of garbage in this spot of the beach park. People used that as a cover for their own illegal dumping, and it was just ignored for so long that it's ended up this badly. When heroes first appeared, they did mostly volunteer work. No matter how boring or tedious it may seem compared to fighting bad guys, we cannot forget those roots! By the end of this week, you must clear this entire section of the beach and restore the horizon!"

"Th-This entire... THIS ENTIRE SECTION?!" Izuku yelled, looking at the massive mound in front of him.

"Welcome to Hell, kid. All Might worked out a schedule for you this week. It covers training, rest, sleep, school and homework time. It's a tough schedule. I personally think he went overboard, but... Here you go." He handed Izuku the schedule.

"I... I can do it, but... How should I even go about cleaning all of this?"

"Well, All Might actually gave me a note for that." He took out another piece of paper. "Ahem, 'Young Midoriya! You should begin by moving the largest objects that you can with your Quirk! Keep going until you can't anymore, then use your Quirk on smaller and smaller objects until it's completely tired out. Then, use your own two hands to move the trash until your Quirk has recovered. You may only stop at the set rest times, or if you are completely unable to move your body.' You can set all of the garbage in this truck, and we'll take it all to the dump bit by bit."

"I... I can do this!" Izuku exclaimed, a determined smile forming on his face.

"I won't let you go back on those words," Toshinori said with a wicked smile, which was oozing blood. "I'll work you to the bone!"

_

Put simply, Izuku was barely able to keep with the schedule all week. His muscles and Quirk were worked endlessly. He had to work harder than ever before to keep up with his homework load in that short allotted time, as well. By the end of every day, he was exhausted mentally and physically, and his Quirk was rendered useless until the next day. Each day however, despite his fatigue, it seemed that he was able to clear more of the trash than the day before. Saturday, exactly one week after the training began, was the last day that he needed.

"There," Izuku sighed, letting his strained Quirk drop the last of the garbage on top of the pile. "I did it!"

Izuku turned to smile at Toshinori, who himself was gazing and smiling at the mountain of trash.

"Congrats, Young Midoriya!" The man exclaimed, raising his hand in a thumbs-up. "You've cleared away the trash from this entire section of the beach!"

"It feels really nice to have that all done," Izuku gasped, panting and leaning his hands on his knees. "So, Mr. Yagi... About All Might..."

"Ah, of course!" Toshinori said, chuckling. "He shall be here momentarily, young man! But, there's one more condition about that secret of his."

"How many more times is the deal going to change?" Izuku asked, looking annoyed at Toshinori.

"Just this once more, and it really should go without saying. You will never write about this secret online, or share it with anyone without All Might's permission."

"Oh, that's what you meant. Of course I won't! It's a secret for a reason, right?"

"Ahaha! Of course, I didn't need to say anything!" Toshinori exclaimed, slapping his hand to his face. He looked around for any people, before saying, "Well, here goes!"

"Wait, what are you–" Izuku started to ask, but was cut off by an explosion of white smoke.

" **I...** " All Might's familiar booming voice came from the smoke, before it began flying away from his body as he struck a dramatic pose. " **AM HERE!** "

"W-What? ALL MIGHT?!" Izuku shouted, more confused than he had ever been in his life. He looked around for the emaciated man who had been there a moment before. "Where did Mr. Yagi go? A-And where did you come from?"

" **Young Midoriya! I am here to tell you my secret!** " It seemed like All Might completely ignored Izuku's question. " **Are you ready for this great knowledge** **to be bestowed upon you?** "

"Y-Yes, I am! But... Where did Mr. Yagi go?"

" **Ah, yes** **! My secret, in fact, concerns that man, Toshinori! He and I are, in truth,** " All Might exclaimed as a large cloud of steam once again enveloped him, "the same person!"

"Eh?" Izuku's eyes bulged as, undeniably, it was Toshinori Yagi now emerging from the steam in his overly baggy clothes. "Y-You... YOU'RE NOT REALLY ALL MIGHT! IT WAS NEVER THE REAL ALL MIGHT, WAS IT?! YOU'RE AN IMPOSTER! A-A SHAPESHIFTER! NOOOOOO!"

"Calm down, young man! I _AM_ All Might!" Toshinori yelled before coughing up a small amount of blood. Wiping away the blood from his mouth, he continued, "I'm kinda like those guys that puff out their chests to look good at the pool."

"N-No way!"

Toshinori walked over and sat against the railing above the sand before lifting up his baggy shirt, which revealed a large scar covering his torso. "About five years ago, I had a fight with a villain that ended really badly. My respiratory system was almost completely destroyed, and I lost my whole stomach. I've withered away because of the after-effects of many surgeries. As of right now, I can only be 'All Might' for about five hours per day."

"5 years ago..." Izuku repeated, tapping his fingers on his chin. "Wasn't that when you fought Toxic Chainsaw?"

"Heh! You've done your homework, fanboy!" More blood dropped from Toshinori's mouth as he laughed. "But that weakling could never do this to me! No, the fight that did this to me... It never went public. I _made sure_ that nobody found out. The symbol of peace that saves people with a smile must never be daunted by evil! I smile to show people that I'm confident in my ability to save them. How could I do that if they know that I'm truly vulnerable?"

"T-That's... A lot to lay on me," Izuku sighed, sitting down next to Toshinori.

"Of course it is! I told you last week, didn't I? There's certainly a lot." The emaciated man stood up and turned around to face Izuku. "Young Midoriya, heroes are constantly laying their lives on the line. Taking risks to help others. That day, when you saw me in the crowd? I was out of time for hero work. But seeing you jump out inspired me! You saved me from being all talk, Young Midoriya! From being a fake hero!"

"I-I'M HONORED!" Izuku exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"Ahaha! I assume that you are going to apply for U.A.?"

"Y-Yes of course!" Izuku confirmed. "It's because it's the school you went to!"

"Well, I'll be training you from now until the entrance exam!" Toshinori grabbed a packet of papers out of his pocket and handed it to Izuku. "I'll be helping you train your Quirk, of course, but I'm also going to push the physical limits of your body!"

"Training my body? Why?"

"Do you think a good Quirk and conviction are all that make for a good hero? Your Quirk may be very strong, but you'll need some physical ability outside of that." Toshinori grinned. _'Not to mention, I will one day offer you my own Quirk...'_

Izuku looked down at the packet of papers in his hands, which was a typed schedule for the next 10 months of his life.

_

Every day after school and on the weekends (except Sunday, which was a physical rest day), Izuku was pushed past his limits. He cleared the rest of the entire Dagoba Beach Park of trash within the month, and then All Might started giving him specified workout routines for his body and also his Quirk.

Slowly, Izuku became incredibly adept at using his telekinesis. All Might put the Quirk through many workouts, each one specified for improving different traits. Some helped him use it without focussing as intensely on it, as he had to work his body while also holding up and moving other objects with his Quirk. He lifted many light objects or single large ones to affect the endurance and also the strength of the telekinesis. He rhythmically and repetitively moved objects in an attempt to increase the speed at which he could move them.

For his body, he was given a different muscle group to focus on for each day, tearing apart his body as he did so. He even worked out during class, with some forearm clutches under his desk and occasionally air sits during note-taking and lectures.

_

*3 Months into the training*

Izuku once again stood before the punching bag in the spare room. This was his third attempt in the last month alone.

' _Focus..._ ' He repeated in his mind for the tenth time, before his arm glowed and he brought it back. ' _Move_ _it... THERE!_ '

Izuku's arm hit the bag, and sent it off of the chain connecting it with the ceiling for the third time this month, although with admittedly more force.

' _I'm not ready yet... Damn..._ '

_

*8 Months into the training*

' _Move my arm... right... THERE!_ '

"AAAGGH!" Izuku screamed in pain as his arm was popped out of its socket.

After taking a moment to recover from the shock and pain in his arm, he looked up to see that he hadn't knocked the punching bag off of its chain. Instead, his arm had gone completely through the bag, and a pile of shredded rubber and plastic laid on the floor.

"I did it!" Izuku exclaimed in happiness, before being reminded that he just dislodged his arm by a sharp pain. "I guess it's a good thing that Mom is shopping right now, or else she would've heard that scream... I should probably fine-tune this move. I wonder if..."

Izuku started muttering, but stopped and almost threw up when he used telekinesis to pop his arm back into place. Then, after recovering, he grabbed a trash bag and cleaned up the punching bag's innards.

_

*The day before the entrance exam*

Izuku collapsed on the sand, panting heavily. That day, he'd been put through one final full-body workout by All Might and a general Quirkout (All Might's designation for a Quirk workout), before ending the day with a 2-mile jog. That jog ended up finishing right at the Dagoba Municipal Beach Park, the place where it all started.

" **What a view!** " All Might boomed, pulling up Izuku's head so he would see the sunset. " **I wonder, who was it that restored this wonderful beach?** "

"Haah... I did..." Izuku said through his panting.

" **Hm? I couldn't hear ya, kid!** "

"I... I said, I did!" Izuku yelled, looking out at the ocean.

" **Quite the transformation from what it used to be, wouldn't you say?** "

"Yeah."

" **You've gone through an impressive transformation yourself, Young Midoriya!** " All Might held up his phone, and on the screen was a picture of Izuku crying on the beach.

"W-When did you take that picture?"

" **This is you from ten months ago!** "

Izuku stared at himself in the past. He was incredibly more thin and pale, and it was obvious that he wasn't very physically capable. He looked down at his current body, which was tanner and built up entirely of toned muscle. He wasn't huge, or even big for that matter, but he was definitely muscular.

"That's... embarrassing," Izuku sighed bluntly, cocking his head to one side.

" **AHAHAHAHAA! I like you, Young Midoriya!** " All Might boomed, with his hands on his waist. " **You are ready to ace the U.A. entrance exam!** "

"Thank you so much, All Might!" Izuku exclaimed, smiling wide enough to rival his hero's own smile.

" **This is the last time I'll be personally training you. I assume you can keep up this pace, and I'll be keeping an eye on you as a hero!** **Now, go home and get some rest. You'll need it for tomorrow's entrance exam!** "

"Yeah! You have no idea what all of this means to me, All Might."

"All Miiiiight!" The voices of 6 people running up the beach caused Izuku and All Might to turn their heads and they both paled at the approaching group.

" **Run, Young Midoriya! RUN!** "

All Might and Izuku each ran off of the beach, all the way to the Midoriya residence, before All Might deflated to his true form.

"I'll be seeing you another time, Young Midoriya," All Might said, smiling down at the boy. "You better get into U.A., you hear me?" All Might put up his fist.

"I will, All Might! Thanks again for everything!" Izuku met All Might's fist with his own.

' _This kid... he has a true drive to be a hero! One day, I know he will be the one that I give One For All. I should probably wait until he's mastered his own Quirk a little bit more, though._ '

With a final wave, All Might walked off and Izuku entered his apartment.

"Hey Mom, I'm home!" Izuku shouted.

"Hey honey!" Inko ran out of the kitchen to embrace her son. "I'm so proud of all the work you've been putting in, so I'm making some Katsudon tonight as a reward!"

"Thanks, Mom. I'll be ready to eat right after I shower."

"Okay, it should be ready by then."

"Great!"

Izuku grabbed a towel and a set of fresh lounge wear from his room. Before walking into the bathroom, however, he stopped by the spare room once more.

' _I might as well try one more time,'_ he thought, stretching his arm out.

Ever since the first time he dislocated his arm two months prior, he had been trying to feel out exactly where the balance lied between power and control. He hadn't yet successfully broken through the bag without dislodging his arm. If he was going to do it before the exam, he wouldn't have a chance after this.

' _Maybe... I'm just overthinking this?_ '

So, he reeled back his arm, quickly bringing a green glow around it. This time, though, the glow extended a little past Izuku's shoulder. He used his telekinesis to launch his arm forward, turning his whole body with his arm. He felt his hand enter the front and exit the back of bag, and the lower half of it quickly fell to the floor. Stretching his arm, Izuku could feel that he probably over stretched it, but it was still all connected. He couldn't help but smirk as he left the room to take his shower.

_

*The morning of the exam*

Outside the massive structure of U.A., Izuku Midoriya paused and looked up, marveling at the grand scale of the High School.

"Oi, Deku!" A familiar, angry voice shouted behind Izuku. "Get outta my way!"

"K-Kacchan..?" Izuku turned to look at his old friend walking behind him.

"Don't stand in front of me, or I'll fucking kill you," Katsuki said in a low voice as he passed Izuku.

"Morning, let's both do our best," Izuku muttered, but was only met with silence as Katsuki walked on.

"Hey, isn't that Katsuki Bakugo? The one with the sludge villain?" Izuku heard one guy say.

"Oh, yeah! He's the real thing!"

"Oh, look behind him! It's that Midoriya guy that rescued him!"

' _Kacchan hasn't tried to bully me since that day, has he? Who knows, maybe he's turning his life around_.' Izuku shook his head and looked up at U.A. again. ' _I've been preparing for this moment for the past ten months! Now, It's time to take my first step to being a hero!_ '

Izuku took 2 steps before he tripped and began falling down toward the ground.

' _Yep. This is how my life ends. It's over for me._ '

Suddenly, he stopped falling, and was floating in midair.

' _What happened? Did my Quirk activate on it's own? How? Wait, no. This is different. It feels like I'm completely weightless!_ '

He slowly looked up to see an extremely cute brunette girl smiling down at him.

"Are you alright?" she asked, using her hands to right him in the air.

"Y-Yeah," Izuku said, looking at the girl, confused. "Is that your Quirk?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry for using it without asking," the girl said, touching the tips of her fingers together as gravity found its way back to Izuku. "But it'd be bad luck if you fell, right?"

"Yeah... Thanks for that. What _is_ your Quirk, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It's 'Zero Gravity.' I can negate gravity's effect on anything I touch," the girl explained as they both started walking towards the building.

"That... is so COOL!" Izuku exclaimed excitedly as his mind instinctively wandered over the many possible applications of her Quirk.

"Y-You're muttering really fast..." she said, looking at him wide-eyed.

"Huh? O-Oh, sorry!" Izuku said apologetically. "I didn't mean to... How heavy is your limit?"

"Oh, I'm not sure, really. I think it's around three tons. What's your Quirk?"

"Huh? O-Oh! Mine is telekinesis."

"Eh?!" The girl stopped and tilted her head. "Do you need to touch something to activate it? And what's your limit?"

"Ah, no. I can pick up anything within about fifteen meters. I mean, I can hold things outside of that range, but it needs to be that close for me to activate it. And my limit is probably a little bit more than a car weighs." The pair resumed their walk.

"Your Quirk is way cooler than mine!" The girl exclaimed. "Our limits are pretty close to the same, but you don't have to touch the things to activate it and you can move them around!"

"Well, at my upper ranges I can barely move things, but I'm guessing Zero Gravity affects everything the same, right?"

"Well, I guess you're right. It's probably pretty hard for you to move a car, but I could just push it really hard and it won't stop."

"W-Wait a minute," Izuku said as he realized something. "If you make something like a car weightless, then I might be able to pick it up like nothing!"

"Oh, really? That would be really cool!" The girl exclaimed, her eyes shining. "We could probably come up with a lot of combination moves, now that I think about it!"

"Our Quirks might be perfect compliments, huh?" he pondered.

"Hey, I'm Ochako Uraraka," the girl said, smiling as she put her hand out to shake Izuku's.

"I-I'm Izuku Midoriya," he said, blushing a little bit at her kind gesture. He noticed two things; her fingers had little soft pads on their tips, and her pinky finger wasn't touching him. "Are those pads for activating your Quirk?"

"Oh, yeah. It activates when I touch all five of my finger pads on one hand to something."

"I see," Izuku said as they reached the room labeled 'U.A. High School Hero Course Exam Orientation.' "I guess we should head to our own schools' sections."

"Yeah. I'll see ya later, Midoriya!"

Ochako smiled brightly and ran toward where her section was. Left alone, Izuku suddenly realized that he and Katsuki were the only ones from Aldera who applied for U.A., so he'd be sitting right next to him. So, he went looking and eventually found his seat. As Izuku sat next to Katsuki, the blond just scoffed. At least he wasn't threatening Izuku with death.

A large U.A. symbol appeared on a screen at the front of the auditorium, and lights shined on the stage, where the pro hero, Present Mic, stood.

"For all you examinee listeners, welcome to my show today! Everyone here, say 'HEY!'" Present Mic shouted enthusiastically, only to be met with silence by the crowd.

Izuku would have spoken up if he hadn't been so excited to see Present Mic in the first place.

Present Mic shrugged, "What a refined response. Then, I'll quickly present to you the rundown of the practical exam! ARE YOU READY?!"

 _*More silence*_

"Present Mic! The voice hero!" Izuku excitedly whispered as quietly as he could. "I listen to him on the radio every week! I'm so moved! I guess all the U.A. teachers are heroes, huh?"

"Shut the fuck up," Katsuki hissed, but Izuku paid him no mind.

"As it says in the application requirements," Present Mic continued, "you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles! You can bring whatever you want with you! After the presentation, head to the battle center that was assigned to you, okay?"

"In other words," Katsuki whispered harshly, "they won't let people work with friends from their own schools, huh?"

"You're right," Izuku said, looking at their exam tickets. "Even though our examinee numbers are consecutive, we're going to different battle centers."

"Don't look at my ticket, I'll kill you," Katsuki hissed. "Damnit, now I can't crush you."

Izuku held back a chuckle. ' _Yup, he's still the same._ '

"There are three types of faux villains in each battle center that you can destroy for 'villain points'!" Present Mic called out. "There are 1-pointers, 2-pointers, and 3-pointers! Your goal is to accumulate points by immobilizing these faux villains!"

"Excuse me! May I ask a question?!" A tall boy with short black hair and glasses yelled, raising his hand.

"Okay!" Present Mic said as a spotlight shined on the boy.

"The printout says there are 4 types of villains. If that is a misprint, as it seems to be, then U.A., which is the most prominent hero school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake! We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes. In addition," the boy said, turning toward Izuku, "You, with the curly hair! You've been muttering this entire time. It's distracting. If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!"

Izuku hadn't even realized he was muttering. He quickly said "I'm sorry," and a few giggles came from the crowd.

"Okay, okay, Examinee Number 7111!" Present Mic shouted, bringing everyone's attention back to him. "Thanks for the message! The fourth villain is worth no villain points! He's an obstacle, so to speak! There's one in every center that'll go crazy in small areas! It isn't invincible, but there's no reason to fight it, either! I recommend avoiding it!"

"Thank you very much!" Examinee Number 7111 shouted with a bow. "Please excuse my interruption!"

"All right, that's all from me today!" Present Mic said. "Finally, I'll leave you listeners with a gift! It's our school motto! The hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said: 'A true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes.' Go beyond... PLUS ULTRA! Now, good luck suffering, everyone!"

_

 **Notes: Alright, I hope you guys enjoyed that! Next chapter is the actual practical exam! Isn't that nice? I wonder how things might change now that Izuku is a little more confident and has a Quirk that he's used to, hm? As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	3. What Makes a Hero

**Did** **someone ask for more changes in the story? Like I said, I prewrote the first 8 chapters, so believe me when I say this was always when I was going to start deviating more.**

 **Wow, thanks for over 180 follows and 130 favorites! After only 2 chapters, I'm actually really surprised that so many people have shown at least any interest in this at all. But God, that's just more pressure. Also** **, special thanks to the guest commenter who said this was brilliant. I got a genuine laugh out of that. I hope I don't disappoint you in the future!**

 **Why** **is this rated M? A) To allow Katsuki an entirely unrestricted vocabulary. B) Just in case, because there are things that will probably be pretty heavy or graphic down the line.**

 **Also, does anyone know about any good fics where Izuku's Quirk is the ability to analyze other Quirks? It seems like such an obvious idea, but I can't find one for the life of me.**

 _I_ _do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _What Makes a Hero_

Izuku stood outside of Battle Center B, going through the warm-up stretches that he'd learned through his training with All Might.

' _This is it,_ ' he thought, standing back up straight after finishing his stretches. ' _All Might said that I have what it takes to be a hero– a great hero! Now it's time to prove him right!_ '

"What's this? It looks as big as a real city!" one applicant said.

"U.A. has multiple of these on campus? Amazing!" another one exclaimed.

' _A ten minute mock battle, huh?_ ' Izuku thought, looking around. ' _Everybody looks pretty confident._ '

Looking around, there were only a few applicants that physically stood out to Izuku. One was a tall guy with 6 webbed arms. Another was a guy wearing a helmet, and there was also a feminine blond guy with a fancy frilly shirt, and metal belt. Then there was someone with red and white hair gelled into a single spike, and... Then he saw Ochako Uraraka in the middle of the crowd, fanning herself with her hand.

' _I should probably thank her again for earlier,_ ' Izuku thought as he began walking towards her. ' _And also wish her luck._ '

Before he even took two steps, a hand grabbed Izuku's shoulder firmly. He slowly turned to look up at the tall boy with short dark hair and glasses, Examinee #7111 if he remembered correctly, who had called him out during the orientation for muttering.

' _So he's here, too?_ ' Izuku thought, narrowing his eyes at the boy. ' _He's already getting on my nerves._ '

Examinee #7111 glanced up towards Uraraka, saying, "That girl appears to be trying to focus." He looked back at Izuku, tilting his head and slightly narrowing his eyes. "What exactly are you here for? Are you here to interfere with those of us who are actually interested in being heroes?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Izuku responded coldly. "I'm here to be a hero too. It didn't occur to you that I might just know her?"

"It did, but the students here are all from different schools. I find it unlikely that you'd know her."

"Well, I–"

"OKAY START!" Present Mic's voice rang out over the group. As everyone looked up at the tower that he was yelling from, he continued, "WHAT'S WRONG? THERE ARE NO COUNTDOWNS IN A REAL FIGHT! RUN, RUN!"

' _Damn, I can't let this asshole distract me!_ ' Izuku thought, starting to run into the fake city along with the other applicants. ' _I have to pass, and not let All Might down!_ '

Students began splitting off of the main group as they ran, and Izuku followed suit by running alone into an abandoned side street. Suddenly, a large metal robot labelled '2' jumped out in front of him. Expecting it to weigh a lot, Izuku used his telekinesis to launch it into a cement wall that was next to the building it jumped from. To Izuku's surprise, the robot was lighter than he expected, so the extra force he had put in caused the machine to crush against the wall.

' _Woah, they must be made of a super light yet durable material! Leave it to U.A.,_ ' he thought before continuing down the street.

Along the road, he encountered two 1-pointers, one more 2-pointer, and a 3-pointer. Once he reached the end of the street, he looked back for a second at the robots that he had smashed against walls and the floor.

' _Alright... 9 points!_ '

He peeled off down another side street, where he was ambushed by a group of five robots; a 3-pointer, a 2-pointer, and three 1-pointers. They all trained their sights on him, but he gripped them all simultaneously with his Quirk and, somersaulting out of the way, he made them all collide with each other.

' _17 points!_ '

Before reaching the end of the street, he encountered another 3-pointer, bringing his total up to 20 villain points.

"SIX AND A HALF MINUTES LEFT!" Present Mic's voice screamed out.

' _It's been three and a half minutes?_ ' Izuku thought, starting to run up another street. ' _At this rate, I'll get about 50 or so points.. That's probably enough! I need to keep this up!_ '

Izuku ran through another street. As he went, his motion activated several faux villains. There were two 3-pointers, three 2-pointers, and two 1-pointers, which he all gripped with his power and launched into a wall at the end of the street, skidding to a halt himself.

' _That was 14 more points, all in an instant! That's 34 in total! That was just a lucky street though, so I can't let up yet_ '

Izuku ran down another street, although he only collected 6 points in that one. He did this going down two more streets, amassing 11 points from them, before breaking out onto a main street that was full of applicants and destroyed faux villains. After doing it through those four streets, he felt a sharp pain in his side.

"45! 47! 48!" He heard and saw Examinee #7111 as he leapt from villain to villain, destroying them with great speed and powerful kicks.

He then saw Ochako Uraraka with several robots floating behind her, before she released them to fall to the ground, yelling, "28!"

' _48? 28? Am I really doing that well? I already have 51 points!_ ' Izuku clutched at his aching side and started catching his breath. ' _Then again, I'm really tired out from over-exerting my Quirk..._ _There were a lot of robots, plus I was running the whole time_.'

Suddenly, a massive _boom_ shook the entire city, and a shockwave was sent down the street. Izuku looked at the source, and paled when he saw a massive robot, which was taller than any of the buildings surrounding it. It had a grey '0' plastered on its shoulder.

' _The 0-pointer? Isn't that a little bit too big?!_ '

"TWO MINUTES LEFT!!" Present Mic yelled over the exam site.

The entirety of aspiring heroes began running away from the faux villain. Izuku was about to follow them when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the color brown. He looked to see that Ochako Uraraka had her leg pinned beneath some rubble. She was twisting, trying to connect her fingers to the concrete, but the awkward angle with which it fell on her made doing so difficult. The 0-pointer was moving down the street, with her directly in the path of its tread. She wasn't going to escape with enough time to run away. She was going to die.

"OOW!!" She screeched, desperately fighting the weight of the rubble.

Izuku's body, despite its tiredness, glowed with a soft green as he pushed himself towards the girl. As soon as he was within fifteen meters, the collapsed piece of the building that had pinned Ochako's leg down flew off of her. Izuku knelt down and picked up the girl, pulling her arm over his shoulder before running away. As he did though, he could feel that his Quirk had lost most of its strength.

"M-Midoriya?" Ochako said softly, before heaving from nausea. "Tha-Thanks..."

"Don't mention it!" Izuku yelled. "Can you run on your own?"

"I-I think I broke my ankle, sorry."

Izuku glanced over his shoulder. ' _Shit_ _! I'm not fast enough to outrun that thing while holding her! And my Quirk can't handle any more, let alone using it on myself! If it comes to it, I guess I could use the last of my strength to launch her a safe distance, but then I'd be done. If only I could stop it. Maybe... No, that wouldn't work! I need to use my Quirk to do that! If only I weighed less... Waitaminute!_ ' "Uraraka! Can you still use your Quirk?"

"I-I could probably manage it for a few seconds," she groaned. "But using it on myself right now wouldn't work too well."

"That's fine, that wasn't what I had in mind! Use it on me, right now!"

"Alright..."

Maybe it was a stupid idea. Maybe it would have been smarter for Izuku to run away with Ochako while he was weightless, but that wasn't where his mind was at the moment. Maybe it was stupid, but he realized it after the fact. He was cornered, and his fight-or-flight response had chosen to fight. As soon as Ochako pressed her fingers to Izuku and he could feel gravity leaving him, he used his Quirk to throw her about 15 meters ahead.

' _Sorry about that, Uraraka!_ '

Izuku turned toward the massive faux villain that threatened to crush him momentarily. Without the burden of gravity pulling his body down, despite his weariness, he easily covered himself in a bright green glow. Leading with his right fist, he flew directly up and into the massive 0-pointer. He moved so fast that he generated a shockwave as he leapt up. He entered through the lower torso of the robot, and exited through the back of its head. His body was mostly well-protected by the force of his telekinesis, but the impact broke his fingers, dislocated his wrist, and broke his forearm. The bits of debris from the machine also ended up cutting him all over. He looked back down at the robot he had just ripped through, which was now falling backwards, exploding in multiple places. It hit the ground with a deafening _thud_ , which let off a shockwave that sent Izuku back a little bit. He then realized that he was still weightless, and he used his Quirk to float back down to earth.

"Release!" Ochako gasped once Izuku touched down, touching her fingers together before vomiting a good amount.

"Hey, Uraraka! Are you alright?" Izuku called, making his way over to her as fast as his exhausted body would let him and wincing at the pain in his side.

"I-I'm fine, I jus–" Ochako started talking before resuming her throwing up.

"Hey, hey, take it easy," Izuku sighed as he knelt down next to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. Once she seemed done with the vomiting, Izuku asked, "How's your ankle?"

"It hurts... A lot," she sighed, rolling to sit on her butt. "But how did you do _that_? That was... a-amazing..."

Izuku looked at her as she trailed off, and saw that she was looking–no, _staring_ at him, and blushing. He looked down at his tracksuit, and realized that the upper portion had been mostly torn apart when he went through the massive robot, and his toned body was completely visible.

"Y-You're really fit, huh," she noted before chuckling nervously. "Couldn't tell while you were wearing that tracksuit, aha..."

"W-Well, I guess..." Izuku blushed a bit and looked away. "Well anyway, it's good to k-know what I'm capable of with my Quirk i-if I use it on something that's weightless," he said, sitting next to her and laughing nervously as he went to scratch the back of his neck. "Ouch! I... I think I broke my arm, though."

"Well, of course you did!" Ochako yelled, gently grabbing his arm to look at his hand. "Ya punched through that whole thing! I'm surprised that'cha didn't shatter your whole arm up to your shoulder!"

"That was probably a stupid idea, ehe. I probably should have just escaped with you once you made me weightless. But at least we confirmed that our Quirks work well together, right?"

"Yeah... Oh hey! Maybe we should become a hero duo once we graduate from U.A.! I mean, if we both passed the exam," Ochako laughed uncomfortably.

' _She's really cute when she laughs, huh,_ ' Izuku thought, laughing nervously alongside her. ' _And her accent is a little cute, too. I wonder where she's from?_ '

"TIME'S UP! IT'S OVEERRR!" Present Mic yelled over the exam site.

"Ah, man!" Ochako sighed as she stretched her arms above her head. "I got 28 points, I hope it's enough."

"I'm sure you'll pass, so don't worry about it," Izuku said, chuckling. "I just have a feeling."

"How many points did you get, Midoriya? You know, before you saved me. _THANKS FOR THAT BY THE WAY!_ " Ochako quickly jumped up and bowed to Izuku in thanks, but instantly fell back down due to her injury.

"Hey, don't over-exert yourself! Besides, don't mention it. It's repaying you for stopping my fall earlier."

"The two don't even begin to compare," she sighed, rubbing her ankle. "I'll make it up to you one day, I promise. Anyway, how many points do you have?"

"I got uh..." Izuku looked around, and noticed that everyone was looking at him and Ochako. "Why is everyone staring at us?"

"Who wouldn't stare when you just tore through the entire 0-pointer?" Ochako sighed. "Stop dodging the question though. Is it low or something?"

"N-No, I got 51," Izuku said.

"Woah, that's way better than my score!" Ochako exclaimed, smiling at Izuku. "You're definitely getting in."

"You did pretty well too," Izuku said earnestly. "I'm sure you'll get in too."

He looked around and saw, through the crowd, that there was a short old lady walking around handing out candies.

"That mademoiselle is the backbone of U.A.," Izuku could hear the feminine blond boy say. He had a French accent. "She's the school's registered nurse... the Youthful Heroine, Recovery Girl!"

Recovery Girl walked over to Izuku and Ochako after checking up on everyone else.

"Do you two have any injuries?" she asked, glancing at the puddle of vomit for a moment.

"Yeah, she broke her ankle," Izuku said, pointing his thumb at Ochako. "And I broke my arm. And my hand."

"Jeez, you kids are too reckless these days," Recovery girl sighed before quickly planting a kiss on each of their cheeks.

"Eh? Why did–" Ochako cut herself off as the pain in her stomach and ankle disappeared.

"Woah, is this your Quirk?" Izuku asked, squeezing his newly healed hand to test it. "That's amazing!"

"Here, have some haribo candies," Recovery Girl said, holding out her hand to the two teenagers.

She dropped 4 gummy bears into each of their hands, and turned around to walk away.

"I feel all better!" Ochako sighed in relief as she stood up. "But I'm still not sure if I passed. I mean, if you got 51 and I got 28, then there's probably a lot of other people between our scores, right?"

"I don't know about that," Izuku said as he also stood up. "I think you did just fine."

"Eh, I hope so," Ochako sighed. Suddenly, she perked up, "How about you give me your phone number! That way, I can tell you once I get the letter from U.A.!"

"Oh, alright, that's probably a good idea. Let's exchange numbers after we change back into our uniforms."

Ochako quickly glanced back down at Izuku's body once more before looking away. "A-Alright!"

Izuku and Ochako followed the rest of the group back to the locker rooms, engaging in general chatter along the way. Once they changed out of their exercise clothing and into their respective uniforms, they met again in front of the U.A. front gate and exchanged numbers.

"Well, I'll see you later, Midoriya! It was nice to meet ya!" Ochako shook Izuku's hand and smiled.

"Yeah, it was nice to meet you too! I'll text you later, alright Uraraka?" Izuku smiled as he let her hand go.

"Sounds good! See ya!"

Ochako and Izuku walked their separate ways. But, instead of going home, Izuku walked back to U.A. He needed to have a word with Present Mic.

After asking a few people about the whereabouts of the vocal hero, he was eventually able to find him. He quickly walked into the room which overlooked the exam grounds.

"Um.. Excuse me?" Izuku called as he entered the room. "Present Mic?"

"Oh? What can I do for you, little listener?" Present Mic turned to him after setting down a stack of papers.

"Um... Well, there's this girl, Ochako Uraraka. She has short brown hair, rosy cheeks. Umm... Her face is kinda cute and round, you know the one I mean? She wasn't confident that she has enough points to pass, but... In the end, she had to use the last of her Quirk's strength on me, and she was super nice besides that. She even saved me from falling before the exam, so... Could I give her some of my points? At least the few she could've gotten with one more use of her Quirk! I think that she really deserves to be a hero, and I want to help her! At least if she isn't already passing, then I'd like to donate as many points as she needs to pass!"

"AHAHA!" Present Mic's laugh was booming, even without his speaker turned on. "Woah, slow down there, listener! I'm sorry, but I can't transfer points between exam takers. That being said," Present Mic shook his head and put a hand on Izuku's shoulder, "I don't think you should have anything to worry about! I haven't seen the scores yet, but I'll let you know that villain points aren't the only thing being considered here. If she helped you out at the end, when she wasn't confident in her own score, I'm sure that'll be taken into account! Don't tell her that I said that though. In fact, don't tell anyone! I really shouldn't have told you anyway, so keep your mouth shut about it."

"I-I will! Thank you so much, Present Mic!" Izuku exclaimed in appreciation as he bowed.

As Izuku exited the room, Present Mic sighed, "I didn't even do anything, kid."

_

As soon as Izuku got home, he took a long, hot shower. It helped relax his sore body, and relieved the stress that his mind had been under as well. It felt like he wouldn't be able to use his Quirk for weeks, although that obviously wasn't really the case. After cleaning himself up, he sat down to dinner with his mom and told her all about the entrance exam, including Ochako.

"Oh, well I'm so proud of you!" Inko gushed, holding Izuku's hand across the table. "And that Uraraka girl sounds nice, too!"

"She is," Izuku responded with a smile, before frowning. "I hope she doesn't worry too much about her score, though. I just know that she'll pass."

"Oh, don't worry about that, sweetie. I'm sure everything will work out!" Inko smiled.

"Yeah. Thanks for the food, Mom. It was delicious!" Izuku said as he stood up and brought his dishes to the sink. "I'm going to go for a run first thing tomorrow. Even though All Might isn't training me any more, I need to keep up with my exercise. So, I might be gone when you wake up."

"Oh, that's fine, dear! Just don't overwork yourself, because that can be bad for you!"

"I know Mom, I already learned that lesson while training with All Might. I'm going to my room, so I'll see you later!"

"Okay!" she smiled, brimming with pride for her son.

After cleaning the last of his dishes, Izuku made his way towards his bedroom, where he began sifting through the day's hero news. There hadn't been any debuts that day or too many villain attacks, except for one that caught his eye.

"Another victim of the hero killer, huh?" Izuku muttered to himself. "Let's see... Power Volt this time? That's too bad, I liked him. When will some hero finally stop this guy? I wonder how skilled he must be to be able to take down so many heroes. What are the specifics of his Quirk, too? I've seen a lot of talk online..."

Izuku began rapidly muttering to himself, speculating about the hero killer called 'Stain'. It was a full ten minutes before he realized that he had gotten carried away again. Having gone through the hero news, Izuku decided to do some bicep curls while watching some videos on his computer. Sitting there, his mind drifted, and he came to rest his thoughts on Ochako more than once.

' _I wonder if she's doing alright,_ ' he thought, coming to the end of his set of curls. ' _Maybe I should text her to see how she's doing... She was pretty worried, after all._ '

Izuku pulled out his phone and opened up his contacts, quickly finding the most recently added one.

 _Midoriya: Hey, Uraraka! This is Midoriya from the entrance exam, I just wanted to see how you are doing after all that._

Midoriya laid back on his bed, and It was only a few moments before the word "read" popped up under his message, and she started typing.

 _Uraraka: Hi Midoriya! I'm doing well, and I'm feeling a lot better after relaxing a bit. Thanks for being concerned! *Stream of cute emojis* How are you doing? I feel like I should be more concerned about you, since you punched through that huge 0-pointer *More emojis*_

 _Midoriya: I'm doing fine, thanks for asking._

 _Midoriya: I meant to ask earlier, but you're from out of town, aren't you?_

 _Uraraka_ _: Yeah, I'm from the Mie Prefecture. My parents sent me out here to go to U.A. Are you from near U.A.?_

 _Midoriya_ _: Yeah, I lived here for my whole life. Do you know anyone around here?_

 _Uraraka_ _: No, I only know you. I just came into Shizuoka a few days ago._

 _Midoriya_ _: Well, I could show you around the town, if you'd like. Besides, we should get to know each other if we're going to go to school together._

 _Uraraka:_ _IF_ _I go to U.A. *Pouting face emoji* But, I'll take you up on your offer either way! Is tomorrow morning fine?_

 _Midoriya_ _: Sure! I'm free after about 8, since I run in the mornings._

 _Uraraka_ _: That's a lot of dedication! I don't think I'd have it in me *Plethora of emojis*_

 _Midoriya_ _: Where should we meet?_

 _Uraraka_ _: You could pick me up at 9:30 from my apartment. Is that fine?_

 _Midoriya_ _: Yeah, sounds great! Where is that?_

 _Uraraka_ _: 1 Address __Attached_

 _Midoriya_ _: Alright, I'll meet you tomorrow at 9:30_

 _Uraraka_ _: Great! I look forward to seeing you! Goodnight! *If emojis had mass, this would be a ton of them*_

 _Midoriya_ _: Goodnight, Uraraka. See you tomorrow!_

Izuku set down his phone and stretched. He was pretty happy with how that conversation went, and he genuinely looked forward to hanging out with Uraraka. He was on good terms with most of his classmates, but most of them avoided him for fear of Katsuki's wrath, which was too often directed at Izuku for their liking. So, it would be nice for him to actually spend time with a friend. Izuku eventually decided that it was time to go to bed, but first he got up and made his way to the living room, where his mother was watching TV.

"I'm gonna go to bed, Mom," he said. "I'm actually going to meet with Uraraka tomorrow—she's the girl from the exam. It turns out she's from out of town, so I'm going to show her around a bit."

"Oh my," Inko said, putting her hand on her cheek. "How gentlemanlike of you, Izuku!"

"Well, I guess. I'm, uh, going to bed now."

"Alright, sleep well dear!" Inko called, winking at him as he walked away.

Izuku had some trouble falling asleep that night. Aside from the excitement of the day, he was also nervous about meeting Ochako the next day. Why would he be, though? He was doing something nice for her, right? Besides, they were friends. New friends, but still friends. Sure she was cute, and super nice, and had an infectious laugh that he probably easily blushed to, but... He shook the thoughts from his head. There was no reason to be nervous. He should be glad to have someone who wanted to hang out with him, not nervous. He didn't hold it against his classmates, because of Katsuki, and he'd be more than happy to be friends with Ochako. Even so, he kept himself up due to the odd nervousness he felt. Not so late that he was dead tired the following day, but late nonetheless.

_

 **Notes: It's a date! Well, not really. I wanted to make it all feel as organic as possible, you know? So, I hope I'm succeeding. Next chapter will cover this little excursion of theirs, the receiving of the acceptance letters, and also some stuff after that. Then we'll be all set to go to U.A.! As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	4. You Can Do It

**Woo! 200 favorites and 270 follows?! That's pretty good for a fic that's been out for like 2 weeks. I just wanna thank you all so much!**

 **Alright** **, this chapter is the longest one so far. Really, I hope I'm making this all seem as completely natural as possible. There will still be some story progression in here with the fluff, so don't worry about that too much** **. I mean, the second tag is _romance_ , so this is just the kind of story it is. I won't be offended if any of you don't enjoy this kind of thing, but the next chapter will definitely be more story-centric.**

 **Random-Cliche-Name: I cannot confirm nor deny what Izuku may or may not have done with his Quirk, but will only say that if it is possible then experimentation may have occurred.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

 _I_ _do not own Boku No Hero Academia_ _or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _You Can Do It_

Izuku found himself outside of Ochako's apartment just before 9:30 the next morning. He had eaten, ran, and bathed earlier, and was now wearing a simple green t-shirt and jeans as he walked to her door. He still felt a bit nervous, despite numerous attempts to calm himself down, and he hesitated to knock on the door. They really hadn't covered the details of this excursion. What did she think if it? How long should they stay out? Where would they go, and would they eat lunch? There was so much that was unplanned, and he would still probably be nervous even if he didn't have a small-maybe-moderate-to-large crush on Ochako. But, he knew that they wouldn't be able to plan any more if he didn't knock on the door and talk to her. So, he finally raised his hand and knocked. He was going to knock 3 times, as was standard, but the door quickly opened in the middle of the second knock.

"Hey, Midoriya!" Ochako exclaimed in her bubbly voice. "I'm all ready!"

She was wearing a pink blouse with a grey knee-long skirt and dark leggings. Izuku stood there for a moment, a little surprised by her prompt door answer and still holding his hand up in the knocking position. After processing what had just happened, he quickly waved his hand and smiled.

"Ah, g-good morning, Uraraka!" He stuttered. "Y-You answered the door... pretty quickly."

"Eh," she sighed, closing and locking the door behind her. "I didn't have anything else to look forward to today, so I got ready a little early."

"Well, we should probably get going."

"Yeah. Where are we going, anyways?"

"Well, there's a nice park near here. We could also go to the shopping center near here, or I could show you my favorite places to get food." Izuku stopped himself there, because he didn't want to start muttering too much in front of Ochako again.

"Let's save that one for lunch," Ochako giggled. "I kinda wanna go to the shopping center. I haven't needed to go there yet, but I want to see what stores are there."

"That sounds good to me."

As they started walking, Izuku asked, "Why do you have an apartment here already? Shouldn't you wait until you know that you'll get into U.A.?"

"Well, my parents own a construction company," Ochako explained. "They helped build these apartments, and the guy who runs the place said that it's the least they could do to let me stay here for a month free-of-charge. I'm here early to get familiar with the area."

"Well, what about school? Don't you still have to go?"

"Nuh-uh," she shook her head. "The school schedule is a little ahead in Mie, so I guess I have an extra long break."

"That's lucky," Izuku sighed. "I still have my finals in a couple weeks."

"Well, you can do it!" Ochako pumped her fist enthusiastically.

"Yeah, thanks," he said, nodding his head. "You said your parents own a construction company? Isn't your Quirk perfect for that kind of work?"

"Yeah, right?" Ochako agreed, before her smile faded. "I told them I wanted to help and work for them, but... They wanted me to follow my own dreams."

"Why do you sound so down about that?" Izuku tilted his head, concerned.

Ochako looked at Izuku for a moment. She hadn't been planning on telling anyone about her family's situation until she really got to know them, but... This boy saved her life, so why should she go out of her way to hide anything from him?

"Well, my family's company doesn't get a lot of business. We're... poor... Like, _real_ poor. But they wouldn't take my help, even though I wanted to give it to 'em." She smiled at Izuku. "That's why I wanna be a hero though. I'm gonna get real popular, and earn enough money to fully support them."

"Woah, that's a nice motivation to be a hero," he mused. "Your parents sound like great people."

"They are," Ochako smiled. "What about your parents? What're they like?"

"Well, my mom's always been really supportive," Izuku said. "I got my Quirk from her, not my dad, and she was so happy and proud and all that. Ever since, she's always been cheering me on towards my dream of being a hero." He smiled fondly, reminiscing about how she cried happily when he first told her about his Quirk, despite the bruises covering him. "Honestly, she's kinda too supportive."

"She seems nice," Ochako chuckled. "What about your dad?"

"Oh, I don't know him too well," Izuku sighed. "He works abroad. He sends money home to support me and Mom, but I only see him during holidays, and even then only occasionally."

"O-Oh, sorry I asked," Ochako apologized, worried that she'd upset him.

Izuku chuckled, "It's fine, really. He's always nice when he does visit, and Mom always seems happy to see him. Besides, he's working for our sake. How could I be upset with him for that?"

"I guess that's true," she said. "So, what's it like to live in the city, so close to U.A.?You must see a lot of cool heroes around!"

"Yeah, I've seen some," he said thoughtfully, looking down at the sidewalk. "We get big villain attacks around here once or twice a month sometimes."

"Have you ever met Thirteen, the space hero?" Ochako's eyes brightened as she asked. "He's my favorite hero!"

"No, I actually haven't," Izuku said, placing his hand on his chin. "But I've met Death Arms, Backdraft, All Might, Kamui Woods–"

"You met All Might?" Ochako cut him off. "That must have been exciting!"

"That isn't even the half of it," Izuku chuckled. "He even personally trained me for U.A.'s entrance exam."

"Eh?" Ochako stopped walking and looked at Izuku, dumbfounded. "You were trained by All Might? Like, _the_ All Might?!"

Suddenly, Izuku regretted saying that. He hadn't needed to worry too much about leaking All Might's physical condition due to his lack of a major social life, but now he needed to be careful. Hell, he didn't even know if he was allowed to talk about the training itself! However, he hesitantly nodded his head, "Y-Yeah, All Might."

"... NO WONDER YOU'RE SO STRONG!" Ochako exclaimed, gripping her hair. It suddenly made sense to her. His amazing control over his Quirk, the way he jumped to save her when no one else did, his toned muscles and his fit body all made sense. "What's he like?! Is he really as big as he looks on TV?!"

"I thought he looked a little t-taller in person," Izuku said. "Yeah, taller."

"Wow," Ochako sighed. "Meeting him is one thing, but you _trained_ with him, too! That's so lucky!"

"Yeah, probably. Come on, we're almost at the shopping center."

"Huh? Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" They started walking again, before Ochako continued, "All Might must have been pretty impressed with you to train you like that. How did you meet him?"

"Well, it was... about a year ago, I think ten months. It was his first day in the area, and there was a villain attack. I helped out, and he talked to me afterwards."

"And he's been training you ever since? Jeez, no wonder you're so amazing."

"Well, I don't think I'm _that_ cool." Izuku scratched the back of his neck and looked away.

"Of course you are! You got over 50 points in that exam, and then still had enough power to rip all the way through that huge robot!"

Izuku looked back at Ochako, who had been wildly gesticulating while praising him, and smiled. "Well, I wouldn't have been able to manage even _close_ to that if you didn't make me weightless."

Ochako tilted her head at him and smiled as well. "I guess so. It's really cool how compatible our Quirks are, huh?"

"Yeah, it is," Izuku smiled. "If U.A. lets us, we should work on combination moves."

"Why are you so sure that I'll get into U.A.?" Ochako pouted.

"I told you, I just have a feeling."

"No offense, but that's not very reassuring."

"Well, we'll see."

As the two reached the shopping center, their conversation quickly shifted to more simple matters, such as where to go. They started by simply walking around to see what stores were there, but eventually started browsing through a convenience store, and then a department store. They didn't buy anything, but Ochako was constantly commenting about how everything was too expensive, much to Izuku's amusement. They ended up going to an arcade, too, although Ochako didn't want to spend too much money there either. Before they even knew it, it was already time for lunch, so they headed to a traditional japanese restaurant that was also in the shopping center to eat. Izuku ordered katsudon and Ochako ordered sushi, and as they ate they talked more about the area, their favorite heroes, and other things.

"I can't believe it slipped my mind earlier," Ochako said, dabbing her mouth with a napkin, "but I meant to ask about your run this morning. I mean, how long was it?"

"It was about four miles," Izuku said nonchalantly. "Hmm, their katsudon isn't as good as my mom's."

"You ran four miles? Jeez, I know I can't do that in one day."

Ochako glanced down for about the tenth time that day as a gust of wind blew Izuku's shirt against his abs, letting their outline become apparent. She wasn't staring because she liked him or anything. She wouldn't do that, right? No, she was just impressed by the hard work he must have put in. Sure he had a pretty good figure, and a really nice personality, and his face was pretty plain yet cute too, and his hair looked so soft... and he had such pretty green eyes that she currently found herself lost in... But no! ' _That_ _isn't how it is,_ ' she thought as she shook the thoughts from her head and took another bite of sushi. ' _Besides, there's no way he'd think that way about me._ '

"Anyway," Izuku sighed as he finished the last of his meal, "how much longer do you want to stay out? We could go to the park, or the beach that's nearby or something."

"There's a beach here?" Ochako asked, looking back up at him. "I didn't even realize that."

"It's called the Dagoba Municipal Beach Park. It used to be a junkyard, until pretty recently."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, the current washed a lot of garbage ashore. It built up, then people started to hide their own illegal dumping in with the pile. It was pretty bad."

"But someone cleaned it?"

"Oh, I cleaned it. As part of my training with All Might."

"H-How big is the beach...?" Ochako asked, not sure what to expect given what she already knew about him.

Izuku pulled out his phone, and began looking for the local news article that talked about it. "Well, the garbage spanned for about half a kilometer, I think. Maybe a little more."

"How long did it take you to clean?"

"About a month, I think. Here." Izuku handed Ochako his phone, showing before and after shots of the beach. "It's gotten pretty popular since then."

"Sure, let's go," Ochako said, getting up from their table. "The photos look beautiful, but I want to see what it looks like in person."

They approached the register, and Ochako paid for both of their meals before Izuku could even reach for his own wallet. He found this very odd, since she had been openly displaying her frugality all day and had even told him that her family was poor.

As they left the shopping center, Ochako looked over to the shops one more time. "Is that a mochi shop?!" She exclaimed, pointing at said mochi shop.

"Yeah," Izuku replied. "Do you like mochi?"

"It's my favorite!" she cried, drooling a little bit. Then, she clutched at her stomach and sighed, "But I'm so full right now! I can't!"

"Well, we can get it later, after we check out the beach."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan," Ochako conceded, following Izuku onto the sidewalk.

They chatted a bit, but halfway to the beach, Izuku brought up what he had been thinking about for a while.

"Why did you pay for my katsudon?" he asked.

"Well, that's just my start on repaying you," Ochako said in an almost melodic tone. "You know, for saving my life in the exam."

"I told you, you don't need to repay me for anything."

"Don't say that. I wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for you!"

"Well," Izuku sighed as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "I guess I can't argue against that, but I don't want you to owe me anything for it."

"You can't stop me," Ochako insisted with a small giggle.

"I guess not. Oh, we're here!" Izuku pointed forward at the metal guard rail overlooking the beach park.

Ochako looked out over the bright sand and blue water, populated with people enjoying the beach. A salty breeze blew across her face, and she couldn't help but smile at the experience.

"It's beautiful," she said quietly. There was no better way for her to describe it. Turning to Izuku, she said, "People get to enjoy this because of you, Midoriya. That's pretty cool, y'know?"

"Yeah, I guess so," he replied, smiling as he watched the families relax and play on the beach he had restored.

The two of them ended up walking along the beach for hours, talking pleasantly about nothing important. The topic came up about Izuku having other friends, and he avoided it as best he could. Ochako made a mental note about his reluctance to talk about it, but moved on with the conversation like she hadn't noticed. There was a game of volleyball, a group of performers, and a few other amusing sights along the way. There was even a villain attack, although it was pretty short and disappointing compared to most. Neither of them noticed that they were out so long, until they saw the sun getting low to the horizon and the glint reflecting off of the water.

"Woah, what time is it?" Ochako asked as she looked out over the water.

Izuku checked his phone and gasped as he saw the time and _6 missed calls from his mom!_ "It's almost six!" he said, his voice squeezing into a higher octave. "My mom called me six times! I forgot my phone was on silent!"

"What?!" Ochako cried. "We should get going!"

They both started back to Ochako's apartment in a quick walk, and Izuku called his mom to apologize vehemently for staying out so long without letting her know. She was fine with it, but she wanted him home because she was making dinner. When they reached Ochako's apartment, Izuku walked her to the door.

"Thanks for taking me out today, Midoriya," Ochako said with a small smile. "I'm kinda glad that we lost track of time y'know? The beach looked so pretty this late."

"Yeah," Izuku agreed.

"But, we never went to get mochi, did we?" Ochako pouted as she suddenly remembered the mochi shop.

"Well, how about this," Izuku proposed. "After we get our acceptance letters from U.A., we can go there to celebrate!"

"Well..." Ochako was about to say again that she might not be accepted, but decided against it. "I might end up going there on my own in the meantime."

"That's fine," Izuku laughed. "I really need to go home now, though. It was nice to spend time with you, Uraraka."

"Yeah, it was good to see you too. See ya later, Midoriya!"

Ochako waved as Izuku started running off to catch the next train home. She was filled with some odd happiness as she thought about the events of the day. She was glad that Izuku was the first friend she made here, but there was something else too. It was some warm, good feeling that she could feel in her chest. She couldn't place it, but it _definitely_ wasn't that she liked him beyond friendship. No way.

When Izuku got home, he received a light scolding from his mother, although she was more worried than angry. After eating, Izuku went through the hero news of the day as always.

_

Over the next week, Izuku and Ochako kept in touch, and Izuku busied himself with his workout routines and school. He tried to contact All Might multiple times, but his messages were always left on 'read'. It was a rather uneventful week. Katsuki kept bragging about his high score of 77 villain points to his classmates, and he took Izuku's silence about his score to mean that he had failed miserably so he left him alone for the most part. The week flew by, and before Izuku even realized, it was Saturday evening. The time that letters should arrive from U.A. He was in the middle of a conversation with Ochako on the phone when his mother excitedly knocked on his door, calling his name.

"I gotta go, Uraraka," Izuku said into the phone as he got up. "My mom needs me for something."

" _Oh, your acceptance letter probably got there_ " she replied brightly. " _My mail should get here in about ten-ish minutes, too... Well, have fun being accepted!_ "

"Yeah, you too."

" _IF I get accepted_."

"You will."

" _Yeah, sure. I'll text you later_."

"Alright, I'll be waiting. Talk to you later."

" _Bye!_ "

Izuku hung up and quickly opened the door, which his mother was still rapidly knocking on.

"IZUKU!" Inko screeched, holding an envelope up to her son. "IZUKU, IT'S HERE! THE LETTER!"

"Ah, my ears," Izuku muttered, rubbing his temple and holding up his other hand at his mother. "Yeah, I kind of guessed that."

"Let's open it! I wanna see your face when you get in!" Inko smiled proudly with a hint of tears behind her glistening eyes.

"Alright," Izuku chuckled, taking the envelope.

As Izuku walked toward the living room with his mom, he noted the heft of the envelope and the presence of a small circle-shaped object in its center. He sat down on the couch next to the excited Inko and opened the letter on the coffee table, first sliding out the disk that he felt. It beeped once before erupting with a blue glow, and a hologram projection filled the air above it.

" **I AM HERE AS A PROJECTION!** " the booming voice of All Might roared as his form became apparent in the hologram."

"Eh? ALL MIGHT?!" Izuku exclaimed, glancing down at the envelope labeled 'U.A.' "This is from U.A., isn't it?"

Inko was equally confused, as she was well aware that All Might wasn't affiliated with the high school.

" **I have been busy, so I haven't been able to contact you, Young Midoriya! My apologies! But, you see, the entire reason I came to this prefecture was for my new job! I'll be teaching at U.A.!** "

Izuku's jaw dropped at the announcement. ' _All Might? At U.A.?_ ' Izuku thought as he began smiling. ' _No way!_ '

A hand popped into the hologram, gesturing at All Might to get on with it.

" **Eh? Get it over with? But I have things that I need to–** " All Might debates with the hand. " **Whatever needs to be said can be said later? It'll push everything back? Well then...**

" **Young Midoriya! You passed both the written exam and the practical exam, and have gained admittance to U.A. High! I'm sure that you already know that, but there's more! You scored 51 villain points in the practical exam, which was the 3rd highest amount out of the examinees! Well done! On top of the villain points, though, we were testing your resolves to be true heroes! The will to give up one's own energy, time, effort, and well-being to help others was also considered!**

" **I** **heard about your efforts regarding Ochako Uraraka, and saw your interactions during the exam! So, I thought I should let you know directly. This exam was also graded using... Rescue Points! They were awarded by a panel of judges based on your actions in the exam!**

" **For** **saving Uraraka, breaking your own bones in the process, and later offering up your own points for her benefit, you get 50 Rescue Points! And for Young Uraraka, for assisting with the robot when she was so exhausted and injured and had her own lower score, and also for inspiring you to take your own action, she also gets 50 rescue points!** "

All Might gestures to a screen behind him, showing the top 10 scorers in the practical exam. In 1st place, with a total of 101 points, was Izuku himself. He couldn't even believe that he had been the top scorer, let alone by such a large margin. In 2nd place, much to Izuku's joy, was Ochako Uraraka. Her 28 Villain Points and her 50 Rescue Points added up to 78 in total.

' _And she thought she wouldn't pass!_ ' Izuku sighed inwardly as he grew incredibly proud of her.

The 3rd place spot almost made Izuku burst out in laughter, but the whole situation was going by so fast that he didn't even have time. Katsuki Bakugo had gotten 3rd place with 77 Villain Points and 0 Rescue Points. He technically had the most Villain Points out of all of the examinees, yet was considered 3rd due to the wrench thrown in that was the Rescue Points. Even more amusing to Izuku was the fact that he lost to Ochako by one point. He was actually almost scared of Katsuki for the first time in a long time. He had no idea what he'd do in those circumstances.

" **So, Young Midoriya,** " All Might continued, his smile somehow widening even more, " **you both pass! Now, come! U.A. High will be your Hero Academia!** "

With that, the hologram shut down. Izuku sat there for a moment, processing everything, before his mother tackled him off of the couch in a tight hug, crying happily and proudly. Izuku looked at the forms in the envelope after his mom calmed down. Since he had gotten first place in the entrance exam, he would be the first-year student representative that would speak before U.A.'s annual sports festival. He was extremely excited about that. Class 1-A in U.A.'s hero course would be his new class at the beginning of the next semester. He wondered if Ochako would also be in the same class, and when he thought of her, he remembered that they were planning to go to the mochi shop. She was getting her mail after him, so he had time... Time enough to wash off the stench of sweat and BO that had accumulated through his day of working out.

_

When Izuku got out of the shower, he was greeted by a text from Ochako that read ' _I GOT IN!!! *Excited emojis*_ '. Izuku sent her a text asking if she was still up for mochi, since they hadn't discussed it after the initial suggestion, and she quickly replied that she would love to. So Izuku finished freshening up and made his way out of his house, then to Ochako's apartment.

"Hey Midoriya!" Ochako greeted, jumping out from the door and quickly closing it behind her. "Let's go get mochi!"

"Uh, y-yeah... G-Good evening," Izuku stuttered, once again caught off guard by her prompt door answer and energetic attitude.

"I'm so excited to get in to U.A.!" She said as they started walking toward the shopping center. "And second place, too! I had no idea about the Rescue Points! But _your_ score was big!"

"W-Well, I guess..." Izuku scratched his cheek and looked off to the side. "I'm about as surprised as you."

"You got all those Rescue Points on top of your Villain Points! The other applicants are probably intimidated by your score, honestly." She laughed a little bit, but then her face went straight. "Speaking of intimidated, did you see the guy who got 3rd? He got 77 Villain Points and 0 Rescue Points... Sounds like he's probably pretty brutal..."

"Oh, you mean Kacchan?" Ochako looked at him, a little confused. "Oh, I meant Katsuki Bakugo. That's his name."

"D-Did you just say K-Kacchan?" Ochako laughed. "Is that a nickname or something? Do you know him?"

"Oh, yeah. We've known each other for our entire lives."

"Well maybe he's not so brutal, then?"

"No, he is. Definitely."

Ochako noticed something odd in the tone of Izuku's voice. "Are you guys... friends?"

"We used to be. Not anymore, though."

"Why?"

"Well... It's a pretty long story. I don't want to bore you."

"Well, you don't need to go into detail. I wanna know, though."

Izuku considered it for a moment and decided that he didn't have a reason not to tell her, unlike his training with All Might which he had let slip anyways.

"Well, we were friends when we were really little. But the Quirk he got was really strong. He got arrogant and started bullying me because my Quirk hadn't come in yet."

"Jeez, what an idiot," Ochako sighed. "What's his Quirk?"

"Explosion. He can secrete a nitroglycerin-based liquid from his hands like sweat, and detonate it remotely. It's one of the most versatile Quirks I've ever seen. He can create massive explosions or just little pops, he can propel himself, use it to attack, or use it to maneuver midair. It's really strong."

"But yours is too, right?"

"He doesn't know that. My Quirk was weak when it first manifested, so he still bullied me even then. I've been training my Quirk though, so I can show him that I'm stronger than him one day."

"I think that's super cool and inspiring," Ochako said, smiling. "A story about overcoming a bully is always good. Still, I hope he isn't in my class."

"I can only imagine how pissed he'll be that he got 3rd place." Something that Ochako had said just clicked in Izuku's head. "Uraraka, what class will you be in?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm in 1-A."

"I'm in 1-A too!"

They both smiled and cheered and high fived as they realized that they'd be classmates at U.A. Then, as they finally reached the mochi shop, their talk went back to their regular friendly chatting about less important things. They both seemed to know what they wanted to order beforehand, and since they couldn't decide who would pay, they just paid seperately. Before too long, they sat down at an outside table with their rice cake ice cream desserts.

"Mm, their strawberry mochi is good!" Ochako exclaimed after taking a bite. "What flavor did you get, Midoriya?"

"Green tea. It's pretty good, too."

"Green tea? That's an interesting flavor."

"It's my mom's favorite, so I guess it just rubbed off on me."

"Are you sure it isn't because your name is 'green'?" Ochako chuckled.

"No, it's because yours is 'tea-girl'," Midoriya laughed too.

He hadn't really meant anything by it, but he realized how weird it sounded when he looked up and saw that Ochako's blush had grown beyond what it normally was.

Pretty quickly, Ochako recovered and laughed, "Hey, our hero duo name should be Green Tea!"

They both laughed at the thought of a hero duo named Green Tea. The thought was entertaining to them, to say the least. They had only been laughing for a few seconds, however, when Izuku caught a glimpse of a pair of blond, spiky heads of hair walking across from them in the lot.

Katsuki Bakugo and his mother, Mitsuki, were on their way to the supermarket in that shopping center. Izuku didn't think that they'd seen him, but he could see Katsuki's extremely aggravated scowl from the chair he was now sinking back into.

"Hey Midoriya, what's wrong?" Ochako asked, concerned about his obvious discomfort.

"O-Oh, it's nothing," Izuku said quickly, sitting back up in his seat. "I-I just saw Kacchan. I don't think he saw me, though."

"You mean the bully that got 77 Villain Points?" Ochako inquired, her eyebrows furrowing. "What's he doing here?"

"Probably just going to the store. He lives around here too, you know."

Izuku looked back toward the supermarket, but saw Mitsuki walking into the store alone. Katsuki was, instead, walking across the parking lot straight toward the mochi shop. He had an unfamiliar look on his face. He was still scowling angrily, but it was different than normal.

"N-Nevermind, he's c-coming this way," Izuku stammered, facing back towards Ochako and taking another shaky bite of his mochi.

"I swear, if he says one thing–"

"Don't do anything to upset him too much, please."

Ochako furrowed her brow, but nodded at him. She looked at the sour-looking blonde approaching the shop, which she assumed was the guy Izuku was talking about. He walked directly to their table and only glanced at Ochako for a second before turning to Izuku with an intense look.

"You piece of shit, worthless, fucking Deku," he said harshly, and almost in a whisper. He again glanced at Ochako. "Who the fuck is Round Face? Your shitty girlfriend or something?"

"N-No, Kacchan!" Izuku denied, more embarrassed than scared. "I-I know her from the practical exam."

"Oh, yeah, the exam." Katsuki let out a small pop that shook the table. "How the _fuck_ did you get such a high score? I mean, I know you cheated, but who's dick did you suck to get so many points?"

"I didn't do anything, Kacchan. I-I don't know about the Rescue Points, but I did get 51 Villain Points."

"Rescue Points..." Katsuki clicked his tongue and shot his glare away. "They're fucking pointless. You don't need to save people if you just beat up the villains they'd need saving from."

"That's not true," Izuku said. "Heroes are public servants, not just crime fighters."

"That's a damn boring way of looking at heroes." Katsuki turned to Ochako, still frowning. "You took the exam too, Round Face?"

"Y-Yes!" Ochako replied nervously, unprepared to talk with Katsuki. "A-And my name's Uraraka."

"Well, _Round Face_ ," he emphasized pointedly, "considering the fact that you're eating with Deku instead of crying in the corner of your room, I'll guess that you passed. Mind telling me your score?"

Ochako started to reply, but Izuku interrupted, "She does mind. Leave us alone, Kacchan."

"Let the girl talk, dumbass Deku." Katsuki looked at Izuku with a death stare. Turning back to Ochako, he asked again, "What's your fucking score?"

"I... I, um, I got..." She glanced back and forth between Izuku and Katsuki a few times before admitting, "I-I g-g-got 78!"

"Hmph," Katsuki grunted. "I'll let you both know right now, you aren't shit compared to me. I'm going to become the number one hero, and you two won't be _anywhere_ close to me." He turned to Izuku, looking like he wanted to add something else, but decided against it and walked away.

Izuku and Ochako both watched silently as he stalked off toward the supermarket. Ochako looked down and pouted when she saw that the ice cream in her mochi had mostly melted, before looking back up at Izuku.

"Woah, he's intimidating," she said, glancing once again at Katsuki as he entered the store. "There's no way someone like him can become the number one hero."

"Well, he has a pretty good chance if he can get that attitude under control," Izuku sighed, inspecting his own melted mochi.

"You're right that heroes are more than crime fighters," Ochako said. "Heroes are people that help others, just like you helped me in the exam! And... And even after the exam! You have a way better chance!"

Izuku looked up from his mochi. "After the exam?"

"O-Oh, in the message I was sent, t-they played a video that showed you talking with Present Mic! I... really appreciate everything you said, by the way."

"Oh, um..." Izuku desperately thought back to that day, trying to remember what he had said to Present Mic. "D-Did I say anything embarrassing?"

"Well, you said my face is round," Ochako said, chucking a little bit.

Izuku's entire face blanched. "Ah! No, nonono! I didn't mean– That wasn't meant as an insult it anything, I just–!"

Ochako laughed as Izuku stammered for some excuse. ' _You called me cute, too,_ ' she thought, smiling. For the first time, Ochako really took a conscious look at Izuku. She scrutinized his face, his body that she couldn't help but notice during the exam and when they last went out, his frizzy hair, green eyes, freckles, the cute embarrassed face he was currently making... ' _He thinks I'm cute?_ ' She shook her head to get rid of the thought, and tried to think of something to change the subject to. Izuku went on without noticing that Ochako's blush widened.

"It's fine, I didn't take it that way," she said with a chuckle. "Hey, Midoriya... Why did Bakugo call you Deku?"

"O-Oh, it's just a nickname that he gave me a long time ago."

"Why, though?"

"It's another way to read my name. It means 'someone who can't do anything'."

"O-Oh, I see..." Ochako thought for a moment before smiling. "W-Well, I like how it sounds. It kinda sounds like dekiru. 'You can do it', y'know?"

"I... I guess I never thought of it that way." Izuku smiled at Ochako. "You can call me that, if you want."

"Alright... Deku..." Ochako giggled as she called Izuku by the nickname. "Ooh, I like it! I'll call you Deku from now on, then!"

"A-Alright," Izuku said, chucking a little uncomfortably. "N-Nobody had ever called me that, except to bully me. I think I like it."

"That's good," she sighed, before standing up from the table. "I think we should get going."

"Oh, yeah," Izuku agreed as he stood up. "The mochi was pretty good, huh?"

"Yeah, I'll come back here sometime."

The two of them once again made their way to Ochako's apartment, talking the whole way. It didn't take long to get over the Katsuki encounter, so they quickly reentered their standard friendly chatter.

"Anyway," Ochako sighed as they reached her door, "thanks again. I had a great time."

"Yeah, me too," Izuku said, before scrunching up his face. "Except for running into Kacchan, I guess."

"Despite that, I mean. I... I'll see you later, Deku."

Izuku blushed and laughed a little bit at the new nickname. "Y-Yeah, I'll see you later Uraraka."

As she closed the door behind her, Ochako let out a sigh. Izuku really seemed amazing to her. The training from All Might, his score in the exam, and the fact that he put up with Katsuki on a daily basis were all so incredible. This fluttering that she felt in her stomach whenever she was with him... It must have been pure admiration. That's the word she wanted: admiration. Admiration for this boy who thought that she was cute.

' _God, he thinks I'm cute_ ,' she thought, smiling to herself and blushing.

_

The next night, Izuku got a message from All Might to meet him at the beach. Izuku didn't even question it. He got out of the house in less than 5 minutes.

"All Might!" Izuku called as he approached the emaciated man on the beach.

"Who's that?!" Toshinori replied, gesturing to two people on the beach who had heard Izuku's calling. He whispered, "Repeat after me! 'My mistake, wrong person!'"

"M-My mistake! Wrong person!" Izuku yelled more than loud enough for the couple to hear him.

"Young Midoriya!" Toshinori exclaimed as he put his hands on Izuku's shoulders. "I can't express how proud I am of you! Not only have you gotten better with your Quirk, but your selflessness is continually inspiring!"

"Ah... I... Thank you All M–!"

"SSHUSH!" Toshinori shushed sharply, covering Izuku's mouth with his hand. "And by the way, I didn't let the school or the judges know about your connection with me. You seem like the kind of person who would be dissatisfied with favoritism!"

"T-Thank you, Mr. Yagi. I really appreciate everything... It's been incredible to train with you, and everything. And I'm so happy with the opportunity to go to U.A. AND YOU'RE TEACHING THERE!"

"Listen, Midoriya. I can't train you anymore. As a teacher at U.A., I'll have no time to foster your individual growth."

"Yes, that's fine! I-I feel like I've already accepted too much help, so I'll be fine."

"Ahaha! Of course you will be!"

_

Izuku expected to be called into the principal's office with Katsuki because they both got into U.A. The meeting had gone exactly how he thought it would, with the principal congratulating them both on a job well done. But that day, before going home, Katsuki grabbed Izuku and pulled him into an alley near the school.

"We never finished our talk on Saturday, Deku," he growled, shoving Izuku against the wall. "What... Are you looking down on me out something? Did you cheat?! Or did you just pretend that your damn Quirk was worthless all these years, and laugh while I bought it?!"

"N-No, Kacchan! I didn't try to–!" Izuku started before being cut off.

"I was supposed to be the only one from this shitty school to make it into U.A.! I told you not to apply, you ass! I guess I was too easy on you, and I hardly trained. Well, I'm not slacking anymore! You hear me, fucking Deku?! I'm going to get so strong that you can't even _hope_ to match me!"

"Get off of me, Kacchan," Izuku said quietly, gripping Katsuki's arm that held his shirt collar.

"Or fucking what, Deku? Are you gonna fight me or some shit? Huh?!"

"Get off!"

Suddenly, a green glow enveloped Katsuki and he flew back against the wall opposite of Izuku. Izuku might have put a bit too much force into that, but he wasn't focusing on that at the moment.

"Argh! Fucking Deku, I can't move!" Katsuki shouted as small explosions popped around his hands.

"I'm not scared of you, Kacchan! I've never been scared of you!" Izuku shouted, brimming with anger. "I have my own dreams to follow, and you won't get in the way! I'll become a great hero, Kacchan! Number one! And you'll see me do it in front of you!"

Izuku stormed off toward his house, releasing Katsuki from his Quirk as he did so. He was instantly disgusted with himself. He had vowed never to use his Quirk violently against an innocent, even Katsuki, but he had let himself lose it for just a few seconds. So, he promptly renewed that promise to himself.

Despite his frustration with himself, he was conscious enough to be surprised that Katsuki didn't chase him down right then and fight him. He was even more surprised when Katsuki stopped teasing him altogether in school. They didn't even acknowledge each other's existence for the most part. Izuku could tell, though, that something changed. Somehow, he could tell that Katsuki was taking him seriously now. But that'd only push Izuku to work harder, too.

_

 **Notes: So I call this chapter the "in-between stuff". I could've made it 2 chapters because it got to be pretty long, but I wanted to speed everything along at a reasonable pace. Because next chapter: Welcome to the Hero Course!** **That's right! It all begins after this!**

 **A lot happened in this chapter that would've normally happened later, so I hope you're all fine with that. Well, a lot happened in general, so I'm sorry if it's too much! But most importantly, again, I hope it all made some coherent sense.** **I** **hope I justified the reasoning behind the changed amounts of rescue points as more than "I wanted them both ahead of Katsuki." And Ochako is more aware of her crush on Izuku than in canon. This is, in my mind, because of the fact that they spent this time alone together, and also in part because of his slightly boosted confidence. Also Izuku said she was cute. And then there's Katsuki. God, Katsuki. Since he knows Izuku has a Quirk, he's more likely to think that Izuku is more of a threat than he'd been letting on. So, just letting you know, he's going to train harder and get stronger than in canon. It'll be fun seeing his motivation kicking in.**

 **As** **always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	5. Welcome to the Hero Course

**Hey, welcome back! First, I'm going to say that I didn't change anything in the battle training pairings. I am actually sorry. I was going to rewrite the entire thing, but it's just such an ordeal. Plus, I** **like how my fight scene turned out.**

 **To** **address some comments:**

 **Jerrend: I am sorry, but this _is_ a slow burn.**

 **YDdraigGoch94: 1st off, Oh my God I love Invictus (I'm hyped since it's the end of June) and thank you for the encouragement! About when they'll start dating... Your suggestion was pretty close actually. I have it planned out already.**

 **Bvvlaze: Point taken.**

 **Hektols: He is more of a brute telekinetic I guess. He has trouble localizing his Quirk's force, and finds it easier to use on a whole object at once.**

 **And thanks to everyone else for your input as well!**

 _I_ _do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _Welcome to the Hero Course_

It was April, the beginning of the new school semester. For most, it meant moving up a grade, or attending a new school. For a select few, it could mean a new chapter in one's life, new opportunities, challenges, victory, defeat. It could change everything for some people. That's what it felt like for Izuku as he finished lacing up his red sneakers that morning. Today, he'd be attending U.A.! Japan's most sought-after hero course was held there, and the school has produced many high-ranking heroes, including All Might. This was the start of Izuku's journey, too. Despite his lack of ability in tying his tie.

"Do you have everything you need?" Inko asked her son as he stood up to leave.

"Yeah, I have everything," he confirmed, hoisting his backpack over his shoulder. "I should get going, or I'll be late."

Izuku opened the door, but stopped when his mother said his name. He turned to look at her, as she smiled softly and looked down at the ground.

"Izuku... You've worked so hard, and I'm so proud," she sighed, wiping a tear from her eye. She looked up at him. "You're really cool."

Izuku smiled at his mother, before departing with, "I'm off!"

Izuku was aware of the situation he was in, almost painfully so. The acceptance rate for U.A.'s hero course was 1 in every 300. Every year, it's done the same way. Except for 4 that get in through recommendation, 36 students are put through by the entrance exam and split into 2 classes. And he was considered the best of them. Out of the elite few that were worthy of attending U.A., he had outscored all of them on the exam. The pressure on his shoulders was immense.

Walking the school grounds and looking for his classroom, Izuku realized just how big U.A. really was. He was able to find his class in time though, and was shocked at the huge door that stood before him. He assumed it was for accessibility, since some people had enlarging Quirks. He just hoped that Katsuki wouldn't be in his class, or the jerk with the glasses either. He knew that Ochako would be in the same class, and that gave him some comfort, at least. Using that thought to soothe his worries, he smiled and opened the door to his future.

"REMOVE YOUR FEET FROM THE DESK AT ONCE!" was the first thing Izuku heard when he slid open the door.

He saw Katsuki with his feet up on his desk and Examinee #7111 standing over him, chopping his arm in an almost robotic manner. Great. Izuku didn't know if he could make it through a single day if he had both of these assholes on his case.

"Huh?" Katsuki leaned his head to the side as he sneered up at the other student.

"It is disrespectful to both the upperclassmen who once used the desk, and to the people who constructed it!"

"I don't think it is. What junior high did you go to, you side character?"

The other one gasped at first, before straightening his posture and planting his hand on his chest. "I attended Somei Private Academy. My name is Tenya Iida."

"Somei?!" Katsuki laughed. "So you're one of the damn elite, eh? I'll have fun crushing you!"

"C-Crushing?" Tenya repeated, taking a step back. "That's cruel! Do you really intend to be a hero?!"

Katsuki scoffed and looked away, but when he did he saw Izuku standing in the doorway to the classroom. He scowled at him, and Tenya followed his line of sight to also see Izuku.

"You're..." Tenya gasped, as he recognized Izuku.

The rest of the students present were watching the exchange between Katsuki and Tenya, so they all looked at Izuku as well. Izuku used this opportunity to look over the students for a moment. Ochako wasn't there yet, but he did recognize a couple of them from the entrance exam; namely, the feminine blonde boy and the one with six arms.

Suddenly, Tenya began walking quickly towards Izuku, almost shouting, "Good morning! I am from Somei Private Academy! My name is–!"

"I-I heard!" Izuku interrupted, stopping Tenya in his tracks. "I-I'm Izuku Midoriya. It's, uh, nice to meet you, Iida." He wasn't really sure if they were on bad terms, so he decided to be polite at least.

"Midoriya," Tenya said, almost sounding a little somber. "You realized that there was more to that practical exam. I... I had no idea! I hate to admit it, but you are better than me!" He looked down, squinting his eyes and holding his arms out at Izuku in the same way he'd held one out at Katsuki.

"N-No, I didn't realize anything!" Izuku said, waving his arms at Tenya who he was suddenly starting to like a little bit more. "I had no idea about the rescue points!"

Before Tenya could respond, an energetic "Deku!" came from behind Izuku. Before he turned to face Uraraka, who he knew it was, Izuku saw something snap in Katsuki's expression, probably being a mixture of shock, confusion and annoyance at the nickname.

"Ah, hey Uraraka," he said as he turned, before freezing as soon as he saw her. ' _She looks really cute in a uniform!_ ' he thought to himself as his face reddened a little.

"Man, I'm so excited to be in the hero course, y'know?" Ochako said, not noticing the blush on Izuku's face. "And I wonder who our teacher will be! They're all supposed to be pro heroes, right?"

"Ah, y-yeah," Izuku replied, averting his eyes to the ground. "I-It could really be anyone."

Ochako looked around at the class, and flinched when she made eye contact with Katsuki, who was glaring more menacingly by the second. " _YEEP_! The mean one is here!" she shouted, pointing at the explosive blonde.

Most of the students glanced at Katsuki and started muttering amongst themselves.

"If you're here to start drama or socialize, then leave," came a dull, droning voice from the doorway.

Everyone looked, and saw a yellow caterpillar lying on the floor outside of the door. At least, many of them thought it was a caterpillar. The face poking out of the yellow mass had a scruffy beard, bags under its eyes, and long black hair poking out from the sides of the face hole.

"This is the hero course," the caterpillar continued, before reaching a hand out of the face hole and taking a long sip from a juice pouch, emptying it.

"T-There's someone in there!" somebody in the class exclaimed.

The man stood up, shedding his caterpillar-like sleeping bag and looming over the students. He wore all black, and had a grey scarf around his neck.

"It took all of you 8 seconds to quiet down," he sighed, shaking his head. "Time is a valuable resource. You're all too irrational. I'm Shota Aizawa, your new homeroom teacher. I'm pleased to meet you all."

Many of the students gasped in confusion at the fact that Aizawa would be their homeroom teacher. Izuku, on the other hand, was more concerned with what pro hero he was. He didn't look familiar to Izuku at all, and he was pretty well-versed in the roster of professional heroes in Japan.

"Put these on," Aizawa said, pulling gym uniforms out of his sleeping bag. "Once you all change, head out to the grounds. Quickly now, like you're rational people."

After changing in the locker rooms–quickly, for fear of Aizawa's wrath–the students of 1-A reassembled on the school's training field. In front of them was Aizawa, and on the floor next to him was a white chalk circle with two measured lines shooting out farther than they could see.

"Today, I'll be conducting a test of your Quirks," Aizawa said plainly.

"A test of our Quirks?" the entire class echoed.

"But what about the entrance ceremony?" Ochako objected. "Or the guidance sessions?"

"We can't waste time on pleasantries like that if you want to become heroes," he responded, not even looking at her. "U.A. is known for its freestyle education system, and that applies to teachers too.

"Soft ball throwing, the standing long jump, 50 meter dash, endurance running, grip strength, side-to-side stepping, upper body training, and the seated toe touch are all exercises you've done in middle school. You've never been able to use your Quirks for these. This country _insists_ on using non-Quirked averages for them. The government is procrastinating, which isn't rational at all.

"Midoriya," Aizawa said, gesturing to the circle behind him, "you placed first in the entrance exam, so step up. How far could you throw a soft ball in middle school?"

"I-I think 54 meters," Izuku said, struggling to remember as he stepped into the circle.

"That isn't too bad." He tossed a softball to Izuku, who barely caught it after fumbling with it for a couple seconds. "Now, launch it as far as you can with your Quirk. Do whatever you need to, just don't leave the circle. Give it all you've got."

"Alright..."

Izuku let out a deep breath and closed his eyes. He held up the ball loosely in the palm of his hand, concentrating.

Everything about Izuku's Quirk relied on the object's weight. How fast he could move it, the range at which he could continue to influence it, and how much strain prolonged use put on him. The only aspect of his Quirk unaffected by this was the fact that he needed to be within 15 meters of any object to activate it. With a ball this light, he could move it very quickly and easily, and he would be able to continue pushing it for a great distance before letting the laws of physics take the reigns.

In the blink of an eye, it was gone. He didn't move a finger. He flicked his eyes, but that couldn't be seen underneath his eyelids. All anyone saw was the ball starting to glow a little bit before rocketing off at an immense speed. Aizawa started talking again, but Izuku focused more on continuing to push the ball as long as he could until it was out of range.

"It's important to know our limits," Aizawa said, looking over the group of hopefuls. "That's the first rational step to knowing what kind of heroes you'll be."

There was a long silence as Izuku made his way back to the crowd of students, stretching his shoulders as he walked. Everyone was waiting for his score. It was out of Izuku's control now, since it was out of range, and he had no idea how long it'd take to land. Aizawa seemed unfazed by the time it took.

"Wow, it must have gone far," Ochako mused, the rest of the class agreeing.

Suddenly, Aizawa's face dawned a smile. He turned the small device in his hand so that everybody could see the score.

"1244.7 meters?!" The entire class exclaimed in unison. "This is awesome!" "We can use our Quirks? Sweet!" "I love this course already!" While everyone else celebrated, Katsuki just glared at the number on the device.

"Awesome, you say?" Aizawa said, his smile widening and becoming a bit sadistic. "You all want to become heroes in the next 3 years, and you think it'll be all fun and games? Alright, how about this... The student with the lowest score across all 8 events will be deemed as having no potential, and will be expelled from the hero course!" While the class began freaking out, Aizawa's voice cut through and he pushed his hair away from his face. "Your fates are in our hands. This is the hero course at U.A.!"

Izuku even felt the pressure. He wasn't actually concerned for himself, but for whoever would be in last. He knew that everyone there worked hard to get accepted. They all passed the practical exam, except for the recommended students. Everyone here dreamed to be a hero, and one of them was about to have that dream crushed. What kind of pro hero was Aizawa?

"Expelled?!" Ochako exclaimed. "But it's the first day of school! No, this would be too unfair even if it wasn't the first day!"

"Natural disasters, big accidents, and selfish villains," Aizawa listed. "Calamities whose time or place are unpredictable. This world is filled with unfairness. True heroes are those who can reverse unfair situations. If you want to hang out with friends at McDonald's after school, then too bad. For the next 3 years, U.A. will do everything it can to place hardship after hardship in front of you. 'Go Beyond. Plus Ultra.' Overcome with everything you have!"

Tenya started drinking orange juice from his hydro flask, Katsuki began stretching his arms and legs, and the whole class was getting pumped up. That didn't distract Izuku from the fact that someone was leaving them already, but he decided to focus on his own score.

"The demonstration is over," Aizawa sighed, losing his momentary vigor. "First, the 50 meter dash."

The top scorer in the 50 meter dash was Tenya. With his Engine Quirk, he finished in 3.04 seconds. Most other times were 5 or more seconds, with a couple exceptions. Katsuki got 4.03 seconds by shooting explosions behind him, and Izuku got 4.63 by essentially flying the whole way.

In grip strength, the six-armed guy named Mezo Shoji was first with over 540 kg of force. Izuku used his telekinesis to press his fingers onto the measurement device, exerting 140 kg before hurting his fingers too much.

In the standing long jump, quite a few of the students jumped past where the measurement devices were. Izuku probably got in the top five if he had to guess, though.

In the side-to-side stepping, the biggest standout was actually a small boy with purple balls for hair, Minoru Mineta, who Izuku hadn't even noticed before.

In the ball throw, Katsuki got 714 meters, which seemed to tick him off. Ochako made her ball weightless before throwing it up into the sky. The infinity symbol actually popped up on the device. Another girl, Momo Yaoyorozu, made an actual cannon to shoot the ball from.

Nothing extraordinary happened in the situps, sitting toe touch, or the long distance run, but Izuku was in the top few of each of them, particularly using his Quirk to push himself further in the toe touch. When everything was all said and done, Aizawa gathered the students again next to the locker rooms.

"Let's get to the results, quickly," Aizawa sighed. "The scores are the sum of all of your performances in the tasks. Explaining the calculations would be useless and time consuming, so here are the results."

Izuku was first. Even though he was sure that he technically didn't get first in a single event, his average score was higher than anyone else's. He had the highest score, followed extremely closely by Momo who was a recommended student, Katsuki, and then the other recommended student Shoto. All the way in last place was Minoru Mineta, who was letting out a mournful wail. Aizawa glanced at the 20th spot for a moment, considering it, before closing the rankings.

"Mineta, come with me to the office," the teacher said, waving him over. "I'll switch you out with a student that's in the general education course."

"I-I won't be expelled from U.A.?!" Minoru exclaimed, a tear falling from his eye.

"Just from the hero course. You can choose other options if you really want to though. There are other schools with hero courses to transfer into."

"I... I guess I can still be a hero, at least..."

"Y-You mean you were serious?" Momo asked, wide-eyed. "I was certain that you just wanted to motivate us."

"I'm sure that you now understand the position this course puts you in," he responded, almost sounding bored. "The rest of you go back to class, where there are curriculum handouts. Take a look at them."

Aizawa placed his hand on Minoru's shoulder and walked him back into the building towards the office. The rest of the class changed and then walked back to the classroom.

"Poor Mineta," Ochako sighed, walking next to Izuku. "I kinda hoped he was lying, but Sensei really kicked him from the class."

"Yeah," Izuku agreed. "I guess this course is really for the best of the best."

"Speaking of the best, you did amazing, Deku!" Ochako exclaimed, smiling widely at him. "You even outscored the students who got in through recommendation!"

"I know. I have to say though, your softball throw was really cool too!"

"Aw, thanks!" Ochako blushed a bit and looked down. "T-That means a lot coming from first place."

Izuku didn't realize it until he entered the classroom, but his desk was behind Katsuki's. He was hoping to avoid him, but it seemed like that wasn't going to happen.

"Hey, Deku," Katsuki grunted after shoving the papers into his backpack.

"Kacchan, don't make a scene on the first day," Izuku said, meeting Katsuki's glare.

"You..." Katsuki took a deep breath. "Were you really hiding your Quirk's strength this whole time? You never showed this kind of control before." He looked like he intended to kill Izuku right there with that look of rage on his face.

"I'm not like you, Kacchan. I don't show off and bully others just because I'm stronger. I never said that my Quirk was weak, I just never had a reason to use it."

"You never fought back," Katsuki said, poking his finger into Izuku's chest. "And you expect me to believe that your Quirk was this strong the whole time?!"

"Stop making a scen–"

"Fuck that! Why the fuck didn't you ever fight back?!"

"Because, I'm better than that. I'll see you tomorrow."

Izuku left without looking back, but he didn't need to. Katsuki was too shocked by what he had said to make a move after him. Izuku somehow knew that he wouldn't go after him, since he mostly left him alone after they talked with their principal at Aldera. Ochako did run out after him though, followed by Tenya.

"D-Deku!" Ochako called, running up next to him. "Man, that was tense."

"I told him not to make a scene," Izuku sighed, shaking his head slightly. "He's just so... frustrating."

"H-He said you never fought back," Ochako said. "I-I mean, I already knew that, but... Why didn't you?"

"I agree with her," Tenya said, appearing on Izuku's other side out of nowhere. "If he has been bothering you for a long time, then you should stand up to him!"

"Y-You're Tenya Iida, right?" Ochako asked, tilting her head past Izuku at him.

"Yes, I am. You are Infinity Girl."

' _Infinity Girl?_ ' Izuku thought, chuckling.

"Ochako Uraraka! Nice to meet you, Iida!" Ochako looked back at Izuku. "So... why didn't you ever stop him before?"

"Because, that's what I hate most about him," Izuku sighed. "He's so aggressive, and arrogant, and he shows off his Quirk just because he can. He looks down on people. Hurting innocent people with your Quirk is the last thing that a hero should do. I thought that, if I fought back, then I wouldn't be much better than him."

"That's not true whatsoever!" Tenya said, chopping his arm into his other hand. "It would be out of self defense if you decided to do so!"

"Y-Yeah," Ochako agreed, looking back at Tenya. "What are you doing here, Iida?"

"Well, I'm going to the station," Tenya explained. "Also, I wanted to speak with Midoriya. Congratulations on being first once again! It's being proven that I was wrong about you again and again today."

"It's fine," Izuku said, waving him off. "We were all a bit stressed over the entrance exam."

"E-Excuse me, Iida," Ochako said, arching an eyebrow, "but what did you say to Deku during the exam?"

"Well he looked like he was going to try to distract you from the exam, so I thought he was there to intervene with the applicants."

"Try to distract me?" Ochako looked back to Izuku.

"I saw you before the exam started, and I was going to thank you again for stopping my fall," Izuku said.

"It was a misunderstanding on my part," Tenya said, placing his hand on his chest. "I apologize."

"N-Not necessary," Izuku chuckled.

"Anyway..." Tenya said, taking on a grave tone. "Aizawa Sensei is ruthless. I knew that this would be the top, but it's going to be more difficult than I thought."

"We're the best of the best, right?" Izuku sighed. "It'll have to be tough."

"I don't feel like the best of the best," Ochako sighed. "But you two sure are great!"

"You did better than most people could, Uraraka. Plus you placed second in the practical exam! You're right where you should be." Izuku smiled at Ochako, who blushed.

"A-Ah, you think so?"

Tenya asked, "Uraraka, are you alright? You're a bit red."

"I-I'm fine!"

"Are you sure you don't have a fever?"

While Ochako and Tenya went back and forth, Izuku found himself content. Despite his conversation with Katsuki, his life felt like it was where it should be. He was at his dream school, he was performing well, and he had friends. Friends that might be able to make real, good friends. He smiled at the thought.

_

The next day came, and Katsuki didn't bother Izuku even though he sat right in front of him. There was a new student, named Hitoshi Shinso, who transferred from Gen Ed in place of Minoru. He sat behind Izuku. It turned out that Aizawa had personally walked into the Gen Ed classes and interviewed each of the students. He seemed nice enough, if a bit reserved. After meeting him and some of his other classmates with Tenya and Ochako during homeroom, the rest of the day seemed almost boring to Izuku. Sure, English was taught by Present Mic, but it was still English. The hero that he had been happiest to see was Lunch Rush, but that was only because it was lunchtime, which he spent with Ochako and Tenya.

The day flew by until they finally reached the most anticipated period of the day, Basic Hero Training! Many of the students were debating who the teacher would be, the most popular possibility being All Might. Izuku also happened to have a hunch that the number one hero was teaching that class.

" **I AM** ," All Might's huge voice exclaimed, before he burst through the door flamboyantly, " **ENTERING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!** "

' _That's not normal at all,_ ' Izuku thought, holding back a laugh.

"It's All Might!" Eijiro Kirishima exclaimed. "He really is a teacher!"

"Isn't that his Silver Age costume?" Tsuyu Asui observed.

"He looks so different from us!" Mashirao Ojiro said. "It gives me goosebumps!"

" **I'll be teaching Basic Hero Training!** " All Might said, flexing in an exaggerated pose behind the podium. " **This course will mold you into heroes though special training, and it's worth a lot of credits, too!** **Today's activity will be...** " He held up a small card labeled 'Battle'. " **BATTLE TRAINING!** "

Katsuki started chuckling, and Izuku really wished that he didn't sit right behind him.

" **For that, you'll all need your hero costumes!** " All Might clicked a button on a small remote, and shelves extended from the wall, holding cases labeled with numbers going up to twenty. " **They are labeled according to your seat numbers! Except, unfortunately, for Young Shinso. His costume hasn't been made, so he must wear a standard P.E. uniform** **Now, get ready! Meet at Ground Beta, and come out in ranking order!** "

_

Izuku was the first to step out in his hero costume. It was a green jumpsuit that his mother got him, with a matching green hood to cover his face and a transparent mouth guard. The hood had two bunny ear-like protrusions at the top, emulating All Might's hairstyle, and the mouth guard had white vertical stripes going across the bottom, emulating his smile. He also had white gloves, a red utility belt and shoes, and black knee and elbow guards to finish the ensemble.

' _It's so obvious!_ ' All Might thought, noticing the imitation of his style. He barely kept from laughing aloud.

The rest of the students followed in their own outfits. They were all very unique, and Izuku noticed that Katsuki's outfit hadn't changed much from when he doodled as a kid, with grenade-esque gauntlets. When he saw Ochako's skintight outfit, he almost had a heart attack.

"Wow, Deku!" Ochako exclaimed, running up to him. "Your outfit looks so practical! And I love the bunny ears!"

Izuku was about to explain that they were supposed to look like All Might's hair, but he decided that that probably wouldn't seem very cool.

"I wish I was more specific with my outfit request, though," she said, blushing and rubbing her neck. "This suit is so tight and curvy, and it's embarrassing."

"I-I think it l-looks good," Izuku stuttered, blushing and glancing away.

"O-O-Oh, y-you do?" Ochako's blush deepened and she also averted her eyes from him.

A couple of their classmates noticed the exchange, but nobody mentioned it. Finally, once Hitoshi entered Ground Beta in his gym uniform, All Might began the lesson.

" **Shall we begin, my wards? It's time for battle training!** " he exclaimed. " **You're all looking good in those outfits!** "

"Sensei!" Iida's voice came from a suit of armor. "This appears to be the same complex as in the practical exam! Will we be performing cityscape maneuvers?"

' _Iida's outfit looks cool,_ ' Izuku thought, looking at his friend's costume. ' _It reminds me of something... I can't put my finger on it, though._ '

" **No, we're going to do indoor anti-personel battling!** " All Might clarified. " **While most villain encounters are seen outdoors, the statistics show that most villains appear indoors! Between** **confinement, house arrest, black markets deals... In this hero-filled world of ours, _ahem_ , the most clever villains lurk indoors!** **Now, you'll be split into hero teams and villain teams, and face off in two-on-two indoor battles!** "

"We aren't getting any basic training first?" Tsuyu asked.

" **Practical experience will teach you the basics! The difference now will be that you aren't fighting mindless robots!** "

Suddenly, the class exploded with questions. "How is victory determined?" "Can I just blast everyone away?" "Are you going to threaten us with expulsion like Aizawa Sensei?" "How will we divide into teams?!" "Isn't my cape fabulous?"

" **Quiet down, one at a time!** " All Might pleaded, taking out a piece of paper. " **My Quirk isn't super hearing!** **Alright, here's the deal.** "

"A cheat sheet?" Izuku muttered, quietly so that only Ochako could hear him.

" **The villain team will be hiding a fake nuclear bomb that the heroes must find and secure! There is a limited amount of time. The heroes must either secure the weapon or capture the villains in the time limit, and the villains must either capture the heroes or protect the weapon. Teams will be determined by drawing lots.** "

"Lots?!" Tenya exclaimed. "Is that really the best way to decide?"

"It makes sense," Izuku said. "In most emergency situations, heroes can't pick and choose who to team up with. They have to make do with whoever is in the area."

"I-I see!" Tenya said. "I'm sorry for getting ahead of myself! My apologies, Sensei!"

" **Don't worry about it! Let's just get to it!** " He pulled two pieces of paper out of a box. " **Team A is Ochako Uraraka and Izuku Midoriya!** "

"W-We're on the same team, Deku!" Ochako exclaimed, suprised and happy. "How lucky is that?"

"Yeah, huh," Izuku said, smiling and nodding his head. "There's no way we'll lose!"

" **Team B is Mezo Shoji and Shoto Todoroki! Team C is Momo Yaoyorozu and Hitoshi Shinso! Team D is Katsuki Bakugo and Tenya Iida! Team E is Mina Ashido and Yuga Aoyama! Team F is Koji Koda and Rikido Sato! Team G is Denki Kaminari and Kyoka Jiro! Team H is Tsuyu Asui and Fumikage Tokoyami! Team I is Toru Hagakure and Mashirao Ojiro! Team J is Hanta Sero and Eijiro Kirishima! Now, for the match ups! First up will be Team A as the heroes, and Team D as the villains!** "

Izuku and Ochako both froze, and slowly turned to look at Katsuki. The explosion Quirk user was grinning widely, and laughing a little bit. Tenya was looking at him too, just as shocked as his friends at the seemingly horrible stroke of luck.

"Deku and Round Face?" Katsuki said quietly, glancing sideways at them and sneering. "I'll kill the shit outta you fucks!"

_

 **Notes: Again, I'm so sorry about not changing the partners here! But honestly, I like how it turned out, so look forward to it, I guess.** **One thing that a lot of fics do (which I hate) is let Mineta stick around, even if he gets last in the Quirk assessment. The only reason Aizawa claimed it was a rational deception was because he felt Izuku's potential in the original. Whatever, it'll be interesting to see how things change in this situation.** **Next week, I'm doing something different. I call it a bonus chapter! So the standard chapter will release, but also a smaller chapter that's put in as a bonus! Of course, the main chapter will be the big Deku vs Kacchan fight, going up to the confrontation after school. But the bonus chapter will shine some limelight on Hitoshi's battle trial! Neat, huh? There only reason I want to do that is because I love him and want to give him attention.** **As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	6. Rivalry

**Thanks for over 330 favorites and 430 follows! It's weird to say, but I've suddenly realized that this story has more of a following than a lot of the stories that I look up to on this site. Thanks a lot!**

 **So this chapter... has gone through many revisions (it somehow increased in size by about 2k words since it was written). I hope that you guys enjoy it, because I'm super worried about how this chapter will be received. I do have explanations to the choices I made... Whether or not they're good explanations.** **Whatever, it's my story.**

 **The comments regarding Mineta: I actually don't mind Mineta, and I didn't kick him because I hate him. It just made sense to. The entire reason Izuku was allowed to stay despite getting last was that he was able to somewhat circumvent the backlash of his Quirk when it was something that Aizawa himself didn't think of. All Might said it himself: Aizawa fully intended to expel last place. The only reason he didn't was because it was specifically Izuku.**

 **YDdraigGoch94: Yeah, Izuku's stuttering will be situational. Less than in the actual canon for sure, but everyone stutters a little bit sometimes. Mostly when he's caught off guard by something (i.e. Tenya is suddenly nice to him) or when he's embarrassed (mostly having to do with Ochako. Not all the time, but when he thought she looked good in a uniform or her skin-tight hero costume, etc.). Also, I'm prepared to to defend my Mineta decision.**

 **Random-Cliche-Name: Yeah, he's the mind control guy from the Sports Festival.**

 **bens6757: Haven't gotten to the part where Hatsume is introduced yet, so that's a maybe. There were like 4 or 5 people that requested random battle trials, I think (Sorry again). And as for the M rating, I don't exactly know how far I'll go yet. Because I'm still not sure how the Stain arc will go down, or anything after it for that matter. Okay** **, I do have a couple of specific ideas about the Stain arc that would be pretty rough, but I don't know how it'll work until I actually get to writing.**

 **Ander Arias: In the sports festival, Aizawa talks about how the entrance exam for the hero course was irrational and favored physical Quirks as opposed to mental/other ones. While Shinso wouldn't have done well in Aizawa's test, he isn't a physical student in the first place. Everyone else is, since they had to get through the practical exam, and that's why it was a physical test. Anyway, not trying to change your own opinion, but that's just where my head was in that decision. I hope I don't disappoint you going forward.**

 **Guest who hates Shinso:** **No, I couldn't use anyone from 1-B because they're already in the hero course. There'd be no point in transferring someone from the hero course into the hero course. Shinso is the only character that we know from Gen Ed, and is obviously the most powerful as he was the only one to advance so far in the sports festival.**

 **Other guest: Parents for Eri? Probably not. I love those fics, but I don't think it's very realistic. They'll definitely be close though.**

 **LucklessBlock86** **: He may.**

 **Thanks to everyone who gave me words of encouragement in the comments! I appreciate all of you! I hope you all enjoy the chapter!**

 _I_ _do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _Rivalry_

"I guess we should memorize this floorplan," Ochako said, looking down at the blueprints to the building they'd be entering in just moments.

"Yeah," Izuku agreed. "Kacchan will come for us straight away. We need to be able to find the objective quickly, or he could take both of us out."

"Can you hold him with your Quirk?"

"Not for very long," Izuku sighed, shaking his head. "If he struggles and uses the force from his explosions, he could break out pretty quickly."

Ochako hesitated, glancing at Izuku. "Are you okay, Deku?"

"Yeah, I am. Why?"

"Because it's Bakugo. I'm scared, and I haven't been bullied by him for the past 10 years."

"It doesn't bother me," Izuku sighed.

5 stories above the pair, Tenya and Katsuki were standing next to the paper mache nuclear warhead. Tenya eyed Katsuki warily as the blonde paced around the room restlessly.

"Bakugo," he finally said, "I'll ask that you not go after Midoriya and Uraraka right away."

"Why not, four eyes?" Katsuki spat back. "I don't give a shit about that fake ass bomb, but I have a score to settle with that damn nerd. Deku's been lying to me, looking down on me... He could've made me stop at any time, but he didn't have the balls. And then he fucking pulls this shit and says he's better than me?! Fuck. That."

"Watch your language," Tenya advised. "It isn't befitting of a hero."

"I'm still fucking better than _him_ ," Katsuki mumbled, walking out of the room.

On the ground below, Izuku and Ochako were still talking.

"So it's like a fated battle between men, right?" Ochako asked.

"Yeah, I guess so..." Izuku looked up at Ochako from his building layout. "Why?"

"Well, uh... You said you didn't want to use your Quirk violently, and..."

"That doesn't apply here. This is the perfect opportunity to show him how strong I am." Izuku looked down and clenched his hand into a fist. "He's really an asshole, but he's an amazingly strong one. His Quirk, his goals and resolve... It's just too bad that he's such an idiot."

"Do you... regret what happened between you two?" Ochako asked.

Izuku was caught off guard by that. He had always just taken his relationship with Katsuki as static, and never thought about how he felt about it. Did he regret it?

"... Of course I do," he sighed finally, unclenching and reclenching his fist. "Of course I liked it better when we were friends, but he's different than he used to be. That was his choice. I couldn't change his mind back then, and now it's–"

" ** _INDOOR ANTIPERSONNEL BATTLE TRAINING START_** "

"Deku, what's the plan?" Ochako asked, dismissing the other conversation.

Izuku thought for a moment. ' _Of course I want to have a straight fight with him, but... Uraraka's grade is riding on this too. I need to suck it up and put the assignment first_.'

"Well, let's just go in and start looking," he sighed. "If Kacchan finds us, then you can make us weightless and I can get us out of there fast. Or I could capture him with the tape, but I don't think I'll have a chance. He'd get out of my Quirk before I could finish tying it."

"And then we find the bomb, right?"

"Yeah... I don't like running from him, but–"

"I fully support running from him."

"... I guess it's fine then. Let's go in through that window, there."

Ochako made Izuku weightless, and he used his telekinesis to make them both rise to the second story and through a window.

"Infiltration complete," Ochako said seriously as they set down inside.

"There are a lot of blind corners," Izuku observed, eyeing the grey grid-like interior. "We should watch out."

They walked for about 10 seconds, looking down corridors as they passed, until Katsuki came jumping from behind a corner, pointing his arm at them. Izuku tackled Ochako out of the way barely in time, and was grazed by the ensuing explosion.

"Uraraka, are you okay?!" he asked loudly, due to the adrenaline and the ringing in his ears caused by concussive blast.

"Y-Yeah, what about you?" Ochako shook the dizziness from her head and looked up at Izuku, whose mask was torn in half and mouth guard had fallen off.

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch– ARGH!"

Katsuki wasn't letting up. He assaulted Izuku with explosion after explosion, not giving him the chance to focus and use his Quirk. Izuku was barely able to scramble away long enough to stop Katsuki for a second with his telekinesis. He shook his rattled head and looked up, realizing that Katsuki had gotten between him and Ochako (who looked very worried).

"Fuck you!" Katsuki grunted as he broke from Izuku's hold, before rocketing forward.

Izuku ducked as Katsuki threw his right arm forward, hand popping with explosions, then reached behind the blonde's gauntlet and pulled him over his head. As he flung Katsuki away, he used his Quirk to increase the force.

"Argh, fuck!" Katsuki shouted, righting himself in midair with tiny explosions. By the time he was on his feet, Izuku had already reached his partner and escaped. "You... YOU WON'T FUCKING BEAT ME!"

Izuku pulled Ochako behind the corner of a random hallway, sitting back against the wall. He inspected the costume that his mother had bought for him. His left sleeve was only partially intact and his elbow guard on that side was also gone. His hood was also completely gone now, and the whole outfit was covered in tiny burns. His body was aching all over as well.

"Deku, that counter was amazing!" Ochako whispered excitedly. "You totally read his movements!"

"He always starts with a right hook," Izuku panted. "I've taken notes on all of the most impressive heroes, even him. I know him better than he probably knows himself."

"You took notes on him?" Ochako held back a chuckle, fearing they'd get found out.

"I-It's a hobby of mine," Izuku said quietly. "I'll probably have the same notes done for everyone in our class in a couple of weeks."

"I... I don't know if I should be impressed or scared."

"YOU WON'T ESCAPE, DEKU!" Katsuki's voice cut through the echoes of explosions as he raced through the halls.

"It looks like my plan is working," Izuku sighed in relief.

"What plan?" Ochako asked. "Now that I think about it, weren't we going to start looking for Iida as soon as we got away?"

"Sorry. I just came up with this on the spot, but look," Izuku said, stepping out into the hallway. "The places that Kacchan passed by are covered in scorch marks. He's probably going back to the bomb, since he's too mad to realize that we don't know where it is."

"So, we just have to follow the trail," Ochako inferred. "But then we'll have to face Bakugo and Iida at the same time!"

"But that also means that we'd need to face them both even if we went straight to looking for Iida," Izuku explained. "Their teamwork probably won't work very well. Besides, we're even faster than Iida if we combine our Quirks. All we need to do is touch the bomb."

"A-Alright, then," Ochako conceded with a nod, followed by a determined smile. "Let's win, Deku!"

"Yeah. Let's do our best!"

They followed the scorched walls until they reached a door. The trail stopped there, so they assumed that was where Katsuki stopped off.

"They'll be expecting us," Izuku whispered, approaching the door. "Let's be careful."

"That's an understatement," Ochako said nervously. "They know exactly where we're coming from!"

"Wait a minute," Izuku said in realization. "The bomb might not even be here! They might've moved it once Kacchan got here!"

"We gotta take the risk."

"Alright... 3... 2... 1!"

Izuku kicked open the door, only to be hit right in the face with an explosion. He staggered back and fell, and Katsuki stalked out of the empty room he had been in. He grabbed the dazed Izuku by the collar of his costume and socked him across the face.

"Deku, you fucking dumbass!" Katsuki laughed menacingly. "Did you think I'd just lead you back to the fucking nest?"

"D-Deku!" Ochako shouted. "Get offa him Bakugo!"

"Wait your damn turn, Round Face!"

"Uraraka!" Izuku yelled, apparently coming back to his senses. "Run! Go find Iida!"

Ochako hesitated for a second, looking down at Izuku's bruised and bloody face, before running off to look for the objective. Katsuki started to move after her.

"Oh no you don't, you–!" Katsuki was flung up into the ceiling by Izuku's telekinesis. After regaining his breath, he looked down at the green haired boy who was just getting up onto his feet. "How damn noble, Deku! Fine, I'll fuck you up some more!"

Katsuki moved his arms and legs furiously, setting off explosions until he finally broke free. But by the time he had fallen to the floor and righted himself, Izuku had already recovered and was running down the hallway. Katsuki chased after him, quickly overshooting him with his explosive speed as Izuku jumped into another perpendicular hallway. Katsuki roared and rushed back to the hallway, only to be met with a fist in his gut, as Izuku was hiding right behind the corner. Katsuki shouted in pain, but instead of being caught off guard like most would be, he grabbed Izuku's forearm with both hands and set explosions off on both sides, badly burning it. Out of reflex, Izuku used his Quirk to push Katsuki back and slammed him hard against the wall, knocking the wind out of him, before running off to hide.

_

Upstairs, Ochako found Tenya in the room with the bomb. She knew she couldn't match his speed without Izuku, so she resolved to wait for him to catch up. Before she could contact him though, she noticed that Tenya was talking to himself.

"Bakugo's troublemaking nature makes him well-suited for this villainous role," he said with a finger to his chin. "I suppose I must also take on the villain role, though it pains me to do so. This training will make me a better hero, so I must commit to it!" His voice became dark, almost like a bad Batman impression. "I am... EXTREMELY EVIL!"

' _He's so serious!_ ' Ochako thought to herself as she failed to restrain a chuckle.

Tenya heard her laugh, and he looked over to her hiding place. "So Uraraka, you've come! I expected as much, with Bakugo going after Midoriya like that. I know that your Quirk let's you affect loose objects, so before you arrived, I enacted a counter-strategy! I cleaned all of the objects off of the floor! You've miscalculated, hero! Muwahahaha!"

"H-He's really getting into it," Ochako muttered to herself, cringing a bit.

_

Izuku sat behind the corner of another random hallway, having gotten away from Katsuki. He shook his burned arm, but the pain wouldn't go away, and he grit his teeth.

" _Deku!_ " Ochako yelled over the earpiece. " _I found Iida, and I'm in the room with him!_ "

"I-I got away from Kacchan for now," Izuku replied in a hiss, shaking his burned arm again. "Where are you?"

" _The middle room on the fifth floor._ "

"That's right near me," Izuku said quietly. "I might be able to do something from here."

" _Aren't you_ _two floors down?_ "

"... Right, I'll make my way up to you."

" _Alright, tell me when. I'll try to get the bomb from Iida until then._ "

"Alright–" *BOOM* "–Argh!"

Katsuki appeared behind Izuku and ignited an explosion in his back, burning a hole in his tracksuit and sending him onto his stomach, skidding across the floor until he was just outside his 15 meter zone. Izuku scrambled to his feet and looked back at Katsuki, who had his arm held up and pointed at him. He held the pin of the grenade-shaped gauntlet with his index finger.

"I'm guessing you know this from your stalking, but my hands secrete a nitroglycerin-like liquid, and that's how I make my explosions," Katsuki sneered. "If those damn clothing shop nerds honored my design requests, then these gauntlets have been storing up a good amount of it."

" ** _Bakugo!_** " All Might's voice yelled over the earpieces. " ** _Don't pull that pin! You'll kill him!_** "

"He won't die if it isn't a direct hit!"

 _Pi_ _ng_

Izuku barely had any time to move out of the way, and was still hit by much of the massive explosion. It shook the entire battle center, and Izuku couldn't even remember where he was for what seemed like ages. Izuku's head was ringing, and the giant hole in the side of the building just looked like a blinding blur to him. The upper half of his tracksuit only clung to him by part of one sleeve that remained. He slowly stood back up on his feet, shaking the shock from his head.

"Awesome, ain't it Deku?" Katsuki taunted. "C'mon, you're not dead _yet_!"

' _That explosion easily hit me from more than 15 meters,_ ' Izuku realized. _'I can't compete with that range!_ '

" ** _Bakugo! If you use that move again, I will end the match and you will lose!_** " All Might yelled. " ** _Using massive attacks like that indoors is a great way to get your own stronghold destroyed! It's a bad play for either heroes or villains!_** ** _And, it's a good way to lose points!_** "

"Aw, you're fucking kidding me!" Katsuki yelled back.

' _Thank God,_ ' Izuku sighed to himself.

" _Deku, what was that?_ " Ochako asked over the earpiece. " _Are you okay?_ "

"Y-Yeah," he stuttered, still shaking consciousness back to his body. "I'm... fine."

Izuku looked up and saw that the blast had obliterated the layer of floor above him, leaving the 4th floor ceiling exposed. He thought he could probably break through one layer of concrete at least, and a plan formed in his head.

"Uraraka, I'm coming up," he whispered. "Be ready to grab the bomb while Iida's distracted!"

" _What do you mean, coming up?_ "

"Through the floor."

" _What?!_ "

"Are you fucking IGNORING ME DEKU?!" Katsuki screamed, hands popping with explosions.

"Kacchan, there's one more thing," Izuku said, looking at his old friend. "You can call me Deku, but that doesn't mean 'useless' to me anymore. To me it means that, no matter what I'm up against, I can do it!"

"We'll see about that!" the blonde shouted as he rocketed at Izuku.

"Now, Uraraka!" he called over the earpiece.

Izuku enveloped his body in the dull green glow and flew up, leading with his arms to defend his face from the concrete as he broke through. Unfortunately, he broke his right arm on impact. The pain caused him to drop his arms from his face, and, through some horrible luck of placement, he rammed head-first into Tenya's armor, knocking his classmate over and himself unconscious.

While Tenya was distracted by the limp boy laying on top of him, Ochako quickly wrapped her arms around the paper mache bomb, yelling, "Secured!"

"W-What?" Tenya yelled in disbelief. "I can't believe I let my guard down!"

" ** _Hero team wins!_** " All Might boomed.

"Deku!" Ochako shrieked upon seeing Izuku, whose hero costume was mostly destroyed and burned, exposed back and arms were burned, and head was flowing with blood. "D-Deku?"

"He's unconscious, Uraraka," Tenya sighed. "I... didn't think he'd go so far for a training exercise..."

"H-He's bleeding so much!" Ochako rolled Izuku onto his back and tried to wipe some of the blood off of his face.

"DEKU!" Katsuki yelled, rocketing up through the hole that Izuku opened to the 5th floor. "You fucking–! Y-You..."

Katsuki stopped himself when he saw Izuku. He was unconscious, covered in blood and burns, and of all things _not_ covered by most of his hero costume. It was like he was just realizing what they had put each other through.

Ochako kept fussing, trying to shake Izuku awake. Her eyes even started watering a bit. She only stopped when the transport bots showed up and carted him away, though she still kept by his side. All Might stopped her as he passed though, sending her back to the monitor room to be evaluated.

' _My right_ _hook_ _... He read my moves completely! And even though I was going all out... He was able to form a plan, and acted on it_ ,' Katsuki thought, clenching his fists. ' _That means that... I lost to Deku... Completely!_ '

" **Young Bakugo,** " All Might said more softly than you'd think he could, " **come along. It's time for your grading. Whether you win or lose, there's always something to be taken away from experience!** "

Once All Might and Katsuki rejoined Tenya, Ochako, and the rest of the class, All Might lined up the three present who had just gone through the exercise. Tenya stood at attention, despite obviously being disappointed in himself. Katsuki trembled in frustration with himself and also with Izuku. Ochako could barely pay any attention at all, more concerned about Izuku's well-being.

" **Well,** " All Might started, coughing into his fist, " **I'd say that the MVP was...** " He paused, considering the candidates. " **It was Iida!** "

"W-What?!" Tenya yelled, jaw dropping.

"Not Ochako or Midoriya?" Tsuyu croaked. "Even though they won?"

" **I WONDER WHY** " All Might boomed with a laugh. " **Anyone have any ideas?** "

"I know, Sensei!" Momo said, raising her hand. "Iida was most able to adapt to the scenario! Bakugo's moves were all obviously made to the end of a personal grudge, and he used far too much destructive force. Uraraka lost focus halfway through, and was only a help to Midoriya when they were trying to escape Bakugo at first. As for Midoriya... I could see that he was acting at least partially on a grudge as well, and his last move was far too reckless and self-damaging. Iida formed an actual counter-strategy and envisioned what the situation would really be like. He was only caught off guard at the very end."

Tenya was genuinely touched by Momo's words.

' _S-She said it better than I could have_ ,' All Might thought, raising a shaking thumbs-up. " **I-I'd also add that Iida was a bit too stiff, but that's right!** "

"We have to start at the bottom and work our way up!" Momo said in encouragement to Katsuki and Ochako. "If we don't cheer each other on, we'll never be top heroes!"

" **All right... Next up is Team B as the heroes and Team I as the villains!** " All Might announced. " **Please, take your starting positions!** "

"U-Um, All Might Sensei?" Ochako said, approaching the #1 hero. "May I be excused? I want to go check up on Deku."

" **Sorry Uraraka, but no. You must learn from watching others!** " He placed his large hand on her shoulder. " **Don't worry too much about Young Midoriya. Recovery Girl will have him all better in no time, but he'll probably be unconscious for a while. Just focus on the exercise.** "

"Okay," she said quietly, walking back to stand with Iida as they watched the other teams.

Katsuki stood in the far back. He couldn't stand to be too close to anyone else right then. He didn't know how Izuku was so strong, and it pissed him off. Ever since he realized how special he was, Katsuki wasn't supposed to have any more obstacles. He pushed others out of his way because he was supposed to be the _best_. Now that Izuku, the one who was lowest on his pecking order, was fucking _beating_ him, what did that mean about him? Was he weak? He shook that thought from his head. No, it just proved his point. Izuku was a liar, not a damn hero. And Katsuki wasn't planning on lagging behind. But as he watched Shoto freeze the entire fucking building and leisurely stroll in, he got even more frustrated. How could he be this far from first place? He was supposed to be the best, a prodigy! Yet now, he felt no more than mediocre in comparison. While everyone else fawned over Shoto's power, Katsuki just became more removed from it all. His whole world, which was only standing on a few last supports, was finally beginning to crash down.

Ochako couldn't focus as much as she knew she should. All of her classmates, possibly future friends, were giving it their all. She had no doubt that they were inspired by Izuku's impressive resolve. She was inspired too, but she was more terrified that he'd overdone it. Despite All Might's assurances, she just couldn't stop worrying about him. It didn't help that her hands were covered with his blood.

_

" **Well done, everyone!** " All Might announced after everyone had finished the exercise. " **We had no serious injuries aside from Midoriya's!** "

Ochako frowned and scrunched up her face as he said that, while Katsuki scoffed.

" **Your teamwork was great! You all did fantastically, considering this was your first training exercise! And as a transfer student, Young Shinso surprised us all, I'm sure!** "

Hitoshi just nodded his head in response.

" **Now, I'm off to give Midoriya his evaluation! Change out of your costumes, then head back to the classroom!** " All Might felt himself reaching the end of his time limit, so he sped away as fast as he could. Looking back, he saw Katsuki's distant eyes. ' _The most inflated egos are also the most fragile... As his teacher, I'll have to counsel him! But for now... Shit, I only have enough time to barely make it through a class!_ '

_

"Eh, this kid knows about you, Toshinori?" Recovery Girl asked the skeletal man after he entered the nurse's office to talk to Izuku.

"Mostly," Toshinori sighed, wiping blood from his mouth. He looked at Izuku's bandaged and unconscious form, grimacing a bit.

"If that's the case, then I assume you're considering giving _it_ to him?"

"Yes... He truly has a hero's heart, a great attitude, and an amazing Quirk to boot!"

"If that's the case, then maybe you should take a bit more responsibility with him!" she scolded.

"M-My apologies–"

"Apologize to _him_ , not me! Seriously, what did he even do?! A concussion, cracked skull, broken arm, and more than too many 3rd degree burns! Added onto his blood loss and general fatigue, I was barely able to do anything more than basic first aid! If I use my Quirk on him right now, he'll die of exhaustion!"

"I-I understand," Toshinori sighed, sitting back in one of the chairs against the wall. "I'll be more careful in guiding my students... Especially him."

"Good, because I don't want him back here anytime soon!" Recovery Girl stated with finality.

_

While class 1-A was walking back to their classroom from the locker rooms, Ochako started to drift from the group, hoping to get an opening to slip away to visit the nurse's office.

"Where are you going, Uraraka?" Tenya asked, noticing her movement.

"O-Oh, I w-was um... I was going to go check on Deku," she admitted.

"All Might said not to worry," Tenya assured her. "Besides, he's being given his evaluation right now. You shouldn't interrupt."

"B-But he... I'm worried, okay?"

"He'll be fine. Truth be told, I'm also worried, but I have faith that he'll be fine! If he isn't back by the end of class, then you can visit him."

"Uugh, fine!" she conceded, following the rest of the class.

The Basic Hero Training was close to the end of the school day, but the small amount of time they had left in their day seemed endless to both Ochako and Katsuki for completely different reasons. While Ochako was worrying about Izuku, who hadn't returned from Recovery Girl's office yet, Katsuki was questioning his very self. Everything he knew about himself, Izuku, the strength of his Quirk in comparison to others... It made no sense to him anymore. Eventually though, the day ended for both of them. Katsuki immediately got up to leave once it did, not wanting to interact with anybody. Ochako started packing up her books, wanting to visit Izuku as soon as possible. Suddenly, a blond boy with a black streak in his hair walked up to her.

"Hey, you're Uraraka, right?" he asked, slouching a bit with his hands in his pockets and a confident grin on his face.

"Huh?" Ochako looked at him, not paying too much attention because she _really_ wanted to get out of there and find Izuku. "Yeah... Who are you?"

"I'm Denki Kaminari," he said, grinning lopsidedly. "I was wondering if you'd like to grab a bite to eat sometime. What do you like to eat?"

"Uh, well... There was this good restaurant that Deku brought me to. Ooh, we also went to a mochi shop that was good."

"I-I uh, see," Denki sighed disappointedly. "Who's this Deku?"

"O-Oh, sorry, I meant Midoriya," she clarified, still too distracted by her worry for Izuku to notice what Denki was on about.

"The one that was on Team A with you?!" Denki exclaimed. "He got first on the entrance exam and in Aizawa's test, right?"

"Yeah, he did," Ochako said, smiling. He was pretty amazing, wasn't he?

Denki started walking away, saying, "Dude, I'm not stepping in on _that_ guy's territory, no way!"

"Territory?" Ochako muttered, still not understanding what he meant.

_

Izuku was approaching the classroom, finally. After being lectured by Recovery Girl and receiving an evaluation by All Might for his performance in the exercise, he was sent back at the very end of the school day. His right arm was in a sling, his left was wrapped in bandages because of the burns, and his head was also thoroughly wrapped with gauze. He felt so lightheaded that he had to use the wall for support as he walked.

He had been thinking about a lot of things during his slow walk back to 1-A. Some old memories resurfaced, probably because of what Ochako had asked him earlier.

 _"Do_ _you... regret what happened between you two?_ "

Izuku expected to feel triumphant after beating his long-time foe, but he felt a little empty, somber. There was some guilt there.

 _"What... Are you looking down on me out something? Did you cheat?! Or did you just pretend that your damn Quirk was worthless all these years, and laugh while I bought it?!"_

Katsuki was right. Even if it wasn't the whole truth, Izuku realized that Katsuki was right.

 _"You... Were you really hiding your Quirk's strength this whole time? You never showed this kind of control_ _before... You_ _never fought back, and you expect me to believe that your Quirk was this strong the whole time?_ _!... Fuck_ _that! Why the fuck didn't you ever fight back?!"_

Izuku realized that Katsuki was right all along. It was the kind of revelation that felt akin to working out an extremely long math problem, only to realize that he made a mistake in the very beginning. It was both relieving and frustrating.

Katsuki wasn't going to go out of his way to show Izuku any respect, no matter how much the green teen impressed him. Katsuki was just stubborn in that way, and Izuku didn't blame him. He knew about Katsuki's rough household, and how disagreeable his mother could be, and he was sure that the blonde had grown this way as some sort of defense mechanism. Izuku had tried to prove himself to Katsuki, but... He needed to work things out more directly. He needed to speak to his old friend as soon as he got back to class. But when he opened the door to the classroom, he was assaulted by the four people closest to the entrance.

"Oh, Midoriya is back!" the one with sharp red hair said, smiling with his fanged teeth. "I don't know what you guys said in there, but that was a super manly battle!"

"Nice dodging!" the pink girl with yellow horns chimed in.

"You got all of us super pumped up!" a large boy with thick lips said.

"I'm Eijiro Kirishima, we were just talking about the battle training!"

"I'm Mina Ashido! You dodge really well!"

"I'm Tsuyu Asui. You can just call me Tsuyu."

"I'm Sato."

The sudden attention combined with his lightheadedness ended up being a bit too much for Izuku. He was about to fall back when Ochako finally broke through the crowd and grabbed him.

"DEKUUUU!" she cried, gripping his shoulders tightly and looking up and down his body. "Are you okay?! Why are you still all beat up? Didn't Recovery Girl heal you?!"

"I-I uh," Izuku looked around the room. "Where's Kacchan?"

"He left right when the bell rang," Ochako said. "Now, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just some scratches," Izuku said quickly, turning to the door. "I have to go, sorry!"

Leaning on the wall, Izuku walked as quickly as he could to the front of the school. Luckily for him, Katsuki was sluggish today and was still in front of the school's blue entry arch when Izuku got outside. He stumbled after him until he got into comfortable shouting distance.

"Kacchan!" he yelled, gripping one of the light poles for support.

Katsuki stopped at the familiar voice and slowly turned to look at Izuku. "... The fuck do you want?" he asked after a few seconds.

"I... I've been such an idiot, haven't I?" Izuku sighed, looking down at the ground and still gripping the pole. "I'm so stupid."

"Yeah, I know," Katsuki said, lowering his glare at Izuku. "What the fuck is new?"

"I... I'm sorry, for everything," Izuku said, starting to take more steps towards the next pole that was closer to Katsuki.

"You're... sorry?" Katsuki's eyes widened.

"Yeah... You were right. I've been lying to you, and looking down on you. I didn't even realize it, but I was. That's not what a hero does... Not at all."

Katsuki stayed silent.

"I-It was something that Uraraka said earlier that got me thinking, but... I regret everything that's happened between us. We used to be such good friends, Kacchan. But I was jealous of you. You were so good at everything, and then you even got an amazing Quirk... And when I got mine, I hoped, just for a second, that you might accept me again. When nothing changed I started to hate you, but... I didn't hate you. I never hated you, and I still don't. I hated the way you thought of me.

"I thought that I hated you, so I just got angrier and angrier, and I came up with some stupid idea that I would train in secret and then surpass you, like some kind of stupid comic book. My Quirk got stronger naturally as I grew up, plus the training I put myself through. Really, you're the reason I pushed myself to get better. But now, I just... I don't want things to stay the way they are, so... Thank you for pushing me to be better, I'm sorry for lying to you, and please, forgive all of these years of my being stupid!"

Katsuki's eyes were wide, his mouth agape. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. His entire world, which had already started crumbling down, suddenly found a couple more pillars. One was something very familiar. Deku was a piece of shit, yadda yadda, except now he was _admitting_ it. He was manning up and taking the blame for the shit he had done by lying all those years. Not only that, but he was _thanking_ the blonde for his strength. Of course, fucking Deku couldn't have gotten this strong on his own. The other pillar was something much older, something that Katsuki had almost forgotten. It was merely an echo of a memory, but it was connected to where he was now. He was being offered a hand by Deku. Before, he'd smack it away and say he didn't need help. Hell, he still didn't need it! But after what he had witnessed that day, Katsuki was going to take every opportunity he could to better himself, whether he needed to or not.

"What the actual fuck?" Katsuki chuckled. "Damn right you're sorry! Listen, fucking Deku, I'll accept your apology if it makes you feel better. As long as you know that you were in the wrong!"

 _'I... I'll go with it,_ ' Izuku sighed inwardly.

"You said that I pushed you to get better?" Katsuki smiled an odd looking grin as his eyes widened. "As if I'd fall behind either! And that icy bastard, too, I'll surpass him! Enjoy your win, because it ain't happening again! I'm coming with everything I got!" Katsuki turned back around to walk home, before pausing and glancing back at Izuku. "I'm not here to play at being friends. We're competitors, Deku, and I'll fucking kill you if you don't give me everything you have!"

Suddenly, All Might zoomed past the still woozy Izuku, almost knocking him over, and stopped next to Katsuki, placing his hand firmly on his shoulder.

" **Young Bakugo!** " All Might exclaimed. " **Self-respect is important, and you've got tons of it! And believe me when I say that you have the makings of a great pro hero! All you need to do is** –"

"Get the fuck offa me, All Might!" Katsuki shouted, suddenly back to his usual self. "I can't fucking move!"

" **Ah,** " All Might gasped, realizing he had been putting more pressure on the teen's shoulder than he had meant to.

Katsuki glared up at All Might with the same grin he had just shown Izuku. "And it goes without saying that I'll surpass you too, as the number one hero!"

' _He's back_ ,' All Might realized, letting Katsuki walk away. All Might glanced down at Izuku. " **Man, being a teacher sure is tough! AHAHAHA!** "

"Hey, Deku!" Ochako said from right behind Izuku, startling him.

"Yeah, Ura-Uraraka?" he stuttered, wondering how much she heard.

"That's not what I meant when I asked if you regretted what happened! He deserves a good punch to the throat for everything he's done!" she exclaimed, shaking his shoulders. A moment passed before she reverted to her previous state of panic, "SERIOUSLY, WHY DIDN'T RECOVERY GIRL HEAL YOU?! IS IT PERMANENT?!"

As Izuku explained that he was too fatigued to be healed to Ochako, All Might let out another hearty laugh. Yes, things seemed to be going well for class 1-A. They seemed to be going very well indeed. And at the end of that exchange, there was a word that permeated the air, despite the fact that nobody said it. Maybe the word wasn't on their minds specifically, but its meaning perfectly described the massive change that had just taken place. Izuku and Katsuki both finally realized how to become better heroes: _Rivalry._

_

 **Notes: And that is why I dread releasing this chapter. Izuku and Katsuki's relationship developed in a different direction! Egads! I felt this would happen because it was actually true that Izuku was looking down on Katsuki, as opposed to the canon 'I can't really explain' situation. Izuku would realize, then feel bad, then apologize, and then Katsuki would be glad because he was in the right and Izuku was in the wrong. That, plus the fact that Izuku wasn't quirkless, would make it easier for Katsuki to accept Izuku as a rival instead of a pebble. Don't hate me.**

 **Next chapter will be the class president picking and the teensiest, tiniest, smallest bit of the USJ attack. Just enough to tease the following chapter.**

 **I hope you guys also enjoy the bonus chapter immediately following this one! It'll be a different format, more specifically from Hitoshi's POV.**

 **As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	7. Bonus Chapter 1

_I do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _Bonus Chapter_

 _Hitoshi and Momo vs Denki and_ _Kyoka_

" **Next up** " All Might announced, picking two new balls from the boxes, " **Team G will be the heroes, and Team C will be the villains!** "

Hitoshi stood up and looked to Momo, who nodded at him. They followed All Might out to the building they'd be using along with Team G, which consisted of Denki Kaminari and Kyoka Jiro. Hitoshi was pretty good at reading people. He _needed_ to be if his Quirk would be useful. And he tried to keep a pretty good eye on the other students, since he didn't know who he would end up against.

He had a pretty good read on Kyoka. She was slightly reserved, but didn't seem to be a loner. Likely she wasn't used to her classmates yet. Most of her commentary was teasing her teammate Denki Kaminari, but when she did talk about the matches, her comments were always somewhat insightful. She seemed decently smart.

Denki was an odd one though. He was pretty loud and talkative, but half of his comments were completely stupid while the other half were actually insightful. He carried himself like a class clown, but also seemed to be watchful and observant. Hitoshi would be careful around him.

" **Here you are,** " All Might said, handing a roll of capture tape to each of the students. Then he gave a floorplan to Hitoshi and Momo, marked with the bomb's location. " **Go prepare your defenses, young ones! You may move the weapon of you wish. You have 5 minutes.** "

Hitoshi and Momo nodded, before walking into the building.

"I'm Hitoshi Shinso," the boy told Momo as they began walking towards the stairs.

"Momo Yaoyorozu," she responded. As they reached the stairs, she continued, "You were added to the class late, so we don't know each other's Quirks. Mine is Creation. I can make any nonliving object from the fat in my body, as long as I understand the object's makeup. It takes some time to make larger ones though."

"That's useful," Hitoshi said, glancing at his partner. Her costume seemed to be designed to show as much skin as possible.

"... What's your Quirk?" Momo asked after a moment of silence, arching an eyebrow.

"Mind Control," Hitoshi said, looking away. He was sure she'd be cautious of him. "I ask a question, and I can control anyone who answers me."

"R-Really?" Momo asked, eyes widening. "That could be really useful in capturing them."

"But it's troublesome against more than one person," the purple haired teen sighed, looking back at her. She didn't seem scared, which was good. "It isn't likely that they'd both answer one of my questions, and it only takes a small bump to snap someone out of it. We need to seperate them."

"Not necessarily," Momo said. "You only need to control one long enough to get the capture tape around them."

"And what do you know about their Quirks?" Hitoshi asked. When Momo eyed him cautiously, he sighed, "Don't worry, I won't use it on you."

"The blond one, Kaminari I think, has some sort of electricity-based Quirk. I don't know exactly what he can do, but it didn't seem to help him too much in the physical assessment we did. As for Jiro, I can conjecture that she probably has some sort of special hearing ability linked with those earphone jacks. And on her hero costume, she has plugs and speakers on her legs. She must have some sound-based abilities."

"You figured all that?" Hitoshi asked. "Impressive analysis."

"Thank you," Momo said. "But we should come up with a plan."

"Can you use your Quirk to make motion detectors?" Hitoshi asked. "And a receiver to know if they're tripped?"

"I can," Momo replied. "I can make them pretty small."

"Good, that can help us prepare for when they find us," he said. "What about traps?"

"I can, but my knowledge is a bit limited on that," she admitted. "Basic tripwires, pressure switches and the like. I could set up a net launcher."

"Good..." Hitoshi glanced down at the map one more time. "The bomb is in a fine spot, so let's set up defenses around the perimeter. Then we get to the bomb. Agreed?"

"Yes, that sounds like a good plan."

They began moving around, placing traps all around the bomb's room. Hitoshi picked out places on the map and led Momo, while she focused on creating traps and motion sensors. The two of them seemed to have a similar sense of strategy, and they agreed on the placement of most of the devices. They moved quickly to place them because of the 5-minute preparation time limit, before retreating to the room with the objective. Momo grabbed one of the metal barrels in the room and created a laptop to receive the motion detectors' signals, before thoroughly barricading the door and the windows with both wood and metal braces.

" _ **INDOOR ANTIPERSONNEL** **BATTLE TRAINING** **START**_ "

"That's that," Hitoshi sighed, leaning against one of the pillars in the room. "We've prepared well, don't you think so, Yaoyorozu?"

"Yes," Momo agreed, watching her screen intently. She turned to her partner, "Do you have experience with hand-to-hand combat, Shinso?"

"No, I've never needed it," he said. "If they do get in, all I have is my Quirk."

"Well, I have been trained," she said, slowly generating a metal staff from one hand and a shield from the other.

"So we're well prepared even if they do get to us," Hitoshi grinned. "You're a good partner to get."

"You are too," she smiled back at him. "You're smart, and you have a useful Quirk."

"Useful?" Hitoshi looked up, leaning his head back against the pillar and considering it for a moment. "I suppose so."

Momo looked at him sideways at that reaction, but didn't press whatever was on her mind. She must've been attempting to be nice, but Hitoshi knew how others saw his Quirk. Even he saw it as an evil power.

A few minutes passed, and none of the sensors had been tripped. It made Hitoshi uneasy, and Momo seemed unnerved as well. If the Hero Team fell into a trap, then the sensors were placed in a way that would make them go off. And even if they got past the traps, the sensors should have been unavoidable. A single movement would send a signal straight to Momo's receiver.

"There's no way to get here without setting off at least one of the sensors," Momo sighed, scratching her head. "Maybe they're just completely off-track?"

"Maybe," Hitoshi pondered. ' _Probably not, though._ '

Suddenly, the door to the room shined and flashed with a bright golden electricity. It stopped after persisting for a while. Then, a vibrating sound caused the door to start shaking. Eventually, the wooden braces shattered, and then it wasn't too long until the metal crumpled and snapped. The door was then kicked down by Kyoka, with Denki standing alongside her.

"Hey villains!" the blond boy shouted, his arms crossed. "We aren't going to let you destroy this city!"

"Geez, you don't need to play it up so much," Kyoka sighed.

"T-The heroes?!" Momo yelled, confused as to how they got there.

"Heroes! How did you get past the sensors?!" Hitoshi asked, quick to put Plan B into action.

"I'm not into explaining this stuff," Denki whispered to Kyoka. "Do you wanna explain it, or should I go straight ahead and fry em?"

"Well, we're supposed to play a part, right? Besides, they're our classmates. Might as well let them know a bit about our Quirks going forward," Kyoka replied.

"Fair enough."

"I'll answer your question, villain!" the earphone jack girl announced. "With my Earphone Jacks, I'm able to listen this entire building." She stabbed one of her jacks into the floor to demonstrate. "I was able to pick out your location, but also any anomalies in the building's normally smooth interior. As for your sensors... The walls in this building, luckily, can conduct electricity fairly well. Lightning Dolt here was able to overload them from afar."

"Lightning Dolt?!" Denki exclaimed.

"I see, I see," Hitoshi said, finally activating his Quirk on Jiro. "Now, Yaoyorozu!"

Momo jumped forward to cut Denki off from Kyoka as Hitoshi ran to tie her arm up with the capture tape. Denki took 2 hits from the metal staff before he grabbed it and sent a shock through it, knocking the Creation user back. It was too late though, as Kyoka was captured before her partner could do anything.

" ** _Kyoka Jiro has been captured by the villain team!_** " All Might yelled over the earpieces.

"What?!" Denki exclaimed. "Not cool bro!"

"It's over for you, don't you agree?!" Hitoshi yelled at Denki. He had gotten good at phrasing many things as questions over the years.

"No way!" Denki shouted with a grin. "I won't just let the villains win! Sorry about this Jiro, but... INDISCRIMINATE SHOCK! 1.3 MIL–!"

Suddenly, the blonde's body froze in place, caught by Hitoshi's Quirk. The purple haired hero-in-training strolled over to him and wrapped his arm with the capture tape, making his and Momo's victory official.

" ** _The Villain Team wins!_** " All Might announced.

Momo, who seemed dizzy from the electric shock she had received, got up from the floor shakily, rubbing the side of her head. She looked up and met Hitoshi's eyes, flashing a smile at him. He was relieved that she was fine, and proceeded to release both of his opponents from his Quirk.

"W-What happened?" Denki asked, rubbing his head. Kyoka was similarly confused as to their situation.

"You guys lost," Hitoshi sighed with a grin as he and Momo walked out past them. "Come on, let's get our evaluations."


	8. Days at School

**Wow, 500 follows and approaching 400 favorites! That's a lot, more than I was expecting to get. Honestly, I pin it on luck that I have so many, but thanks to all of you nevertheless!**

 **I** **want to say that a lot of the criticism I got for Izuku's interaction with Katsuki was definitely true. And I may not have been clear with my note on the last chapter, but when I said Katsuki was in the right, I meant that it seemed like that from their perspective. Katsuki doesn't deserve anything from Izuku, you're right, but Izuku really can't help it. I think it's completely in-character for him to apologize there. Even though he has developed differently from his canon self, Izuku is still totally the type of person to do that. It's instinctual for him to feel bad for lying, even to someone like Katsuki, and he feels like he should have done something different. Any more specific points, I'll address in the comment reviews:**

 **Sandman001: Yes, Ochako was pretty much the voice of reason. I actually think that it might have been a bit OOC for her to go so far as to say "punch to the throat", but I put that in anyway.**

 **YDdraigGoch94** **: Katsuki doesn't know about All Might's training, besides the fact that Izuku was holding back before anyway. Izuku's worst injuries were actually self inflicted (the broken arm, skull, and concussion). Besides, if Katsuki was reprimanded for a few burns in this, he would've been reprimanded in canon as well (though not as badly, as you pointed out).**

 **Hektols** **: Sorry bout that, but Katsuki is stronger than in canon as well. Also, he's more knowledgeable about Izuku's Quirk, so he tried to counter it more. I'll try to take your advice in future chapters though.**

 **MM995: The "looking down" was from more of a moral sense than regarding actual skill. Izuku felt bad for always seeing Katsuki as the bad guy even though they were both trying to be heroes (no matter how bad Katsuki actually was). Yeah, Izuku's relationship with Katsuki is unhealthy, not arguing there.**

 **Cyde** **: I agree, to be honest.**

 **bens6757: Well, I actually did consider the fact that All Might still has all of OFA's power. That does mean he's stronger, but it doesn't mean his muscle form lasts longer. It's a separate thing from OFA. And yes, I'm waiting on giving Izuku OFA because it'd be ridiculously OP. In terms of sexual stuff... Not even in my head, I swear. Maybe later, but it'd be waaayyyy later if that even pops up at all.**

 **GotTheMovesLikeYaegar** **: Well, their relationship developed pretty differently than canon from the start, and that added confidence from Izuku added on would make her see him in a different light. And... I don't think I'm portraying Izuku as a jerk, am I? Well, I guess I'll work on that.**

 **Ander Arias** **: Again, I never said that Izuku really owed Katsuki anything, and honestly, I personally agree with what you said. But when I write, I don't try to think of what I'd personally do in the situation. Each and every character has some flaw. For Katsuki, it's that he's a self-centered raging lunatic who only wants to be the best at everything. For Izuku, he's instinctually kind to a fault. Honestly, I want to punch Katsuki too, but Izuku wouldn't do that. And also, Denki actually did ask Ochako out in canon. We only got to see the tail-end of it though as Izuku walked in.**

 **LoveGlutton** **: I love you, you are a saint.**

 **KahunaLagoona** **: Those aren't missing quotes. It's a narration of her inner thoughts, you could say. And I don't know about being missing in the filter search** **, but thanks a bunch for mentioning my story in your blog post!**

 **Sentinel07** **: I'd like to see Katsuki try to continue his bullying in U.A. It'd be entertaining.**

 **I'm kinda sorry, but much of this chapter is still almost straight from the manga. Still, I hope you enjoy.**

 _I_ _do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _Days at School_

After the first full day of school at U.A., it was finally announced to the nation that All Might was a teacher at the prestigious school. The news shook the country to its core, as many were conflicted about the thought that he wouldn't be at his agency in Tokyo anymore. News anchors were gathered outside of U.A.'s entrance the next morning, asking students and teachers for interviews as they passed.

"Excuse me, what's it like to learn from All Might?" a reporter asked Izuku, who still had his arm in a sling and bandages on his head and other arm. "Wait, aren't you that kid from the sludge incident?"

"Ah, I-I'm sorry, but I'm due at the nurse's office right now," he explained rapidly, slipping through the crowd.

"What does the symbol of peace look like in front of the classroom?" another reporter asked Ochako as she arrived.

"Ah, well..." She put up her arms in a bicep flexing pose. "He's real muscley! Yeah!"

"What do you think of 'All Might the Teacher'?" one asked Tenya.

Tenya began a complex explanation of what All Might was like as a teacher and how he felt about it. The reporter thought the speech was probably pre-prepared, but it really wasn't.

"When All Might is..." a reporter started to ask Katsuki, before recognizing him. "You're the kid from the sludge incident!"

"Fuck off!" Katsuki spat before walking through U.A.'s entry arch.

Aizawa walked out to the reporters, glancing around at them with an annoyed look on his face.

"Does All Mi–? You're a mess!" one reporter exclaimed at the sight of the 1-A homeroom teacher. "Who are you, anyway?"

"All Might is off today," Aizawa said tiredly. He shooed them with his hand. "You're disturbing our classes, so please leave."

The reporters kept shouting questions after him, but one of them got too close and activated the U.A. barrier. That shut them up, and Aizawa was more than happy to have the peace and quiet. When 1-A, including the healed Izuku, began class, Aizawa took out a stack of papers.

"Good job with yesterday's battle training," he said to the class, who were surprised to hear the positive sentiment come from him. "I looked over your grades and evaluations. Bakugo, grow up already. Stop wasting your talent."

"Yes sir," Katsuki replied with a smirk.

"And Midoriya, I heard you destroyed your body," he continued, causing Izuku to grimace and look down at the desk. "It's good to be determined, but if you get that kind of injury in a real situation, you'll be there one who needs to be saved. Be more careful."

"Yes sir," Izuku sighed quietly, aware of a few eyes on him.

"Now, onto homeroom business," Aizawa sighed. "Sorry for announcing this so suddenly, but today..."

The whole class felt Aizawa's presence looming over them, and they feared that it would be another brutal assessment.

"... you'll be picking a class president."

"That's such a normal school thing!" multiple people said in unison.

The class exploded with people raising their hands and shouting that they'd like to be picked. Even Katsuki raised his hand, a look of furious competition in his eyes. Izuku held his hand up too, but not quite as high as anyone else. In a normal high school, the position of class president holds no purpose other than some mundane tasks, so few people want to do it. But, in a hero course, it signifies the leader of the group. It's truly a position for a top hero-in-training.

Suddenly, Tenya called out to the class, "Quiet down! Leading the group is a position of great renown, but willingness doesn't equate directly to ability! This sacred office requires the trust of its constituents! If this is to be democratic, then I put forward the motion that we must choose by election!"

"This is a classroom, not Congress!"

"We haven't known each other long enough to build any trust yet, though."

"Besides, everyone will just vote for themselves!"

"That's percisely why!" Tenya said. "Anyone with multiple votes is best-suited for the position! Sensei, will you allow this?!"

"I don't care, as long as you do it quickly and _quietly_ ," Aizawa sighed as he got back into his yellow sleeping bag.

With that approval, the students began voting. Tenya had a dilemma. While he wanted to be the class president, he also believed in the democratic process and wanted to vote for someone else. He was stuck between Izuku, because of his genuine kindness and good split-second decision making, and Momo, because of the way she broke down the battle training. In the end, he chose Momo. He would've chosen Izuku if the green haired boy had actually realized the true nature of the practical exam, but he'd told Tenya that that wasn't the case. Even that honesty and integrity was a good reason to pick him, but he felt that Momo seemed slightly better suited to the position with her analytical skills.

In the end, when the results were tallied, Momo won with 3 votes, and Izuku followed with 2. The rest of the class had 1 vote or 0. Momo didn't seem too surprised, although she was pleased, while Izuku was freaking out.

"I got 2?" he said, smiling and wondering who gave him their vote.

"Who the fuck voted for Deku?!" Katsuki said sharply, looking at the rest of the class before resting his glare on Ochako, who was looking away and whistling. "ROUND FACE!!"

"Uwawawhat?!" she exclaimed, putting up her arms defensively.

Tenya slammed his fist on his desk. "Zero votes... I thought as much! This is the harsh reality of this sacred office!"

"So you voted for someone else?" Momo asked, realizing that she and Izuku were the only two with multiple votes.

Rikido looked at Tenya questioningly. "You were the one who called for an election. What did you even want, Iida?"

"Fine then," Aizawa said, standing up out of his sleeping bag. "Your president is Yaoyorozu, and the vice president is Midoriya."

Momo looked at Izuku. He seemed a bit nervous, but he held it together pretty well. He wouldn't be her first choice as a class vice president, but he wasn't too bad either.

That day during lunch, Izuku, Ochako, and Tenya once again sat together. Izuku was still surprised by the sheer volume of students at U.A. The Hero Courses, Gen Ed Courses, Business Courses, and Support Courses made the cafeteria much louder than the one at his old middle school, but he could still comfortably hear Ochako, who sat right next to him, and Tenya, who sat across from them.

"Mmm, this rice is tasty!" Ochako sighed in comfort.

"I know I'm just the vice president and not the actual class president," Izuku sighed, "but I'm still a bit worried that I'm not up to it."

"You'll do fine," Ochako said supportively.

"Midoriya, your grit and decisiveness in a pinch shows that you are perfectly suited for the role," Tenya said decisively. "Really, you were my second choice for president."

"Does that mean that you voted for Yaoyorozu?" Izuku asked, and Tenya nodded his head in reply.

"But didn't you want to be the President, Iida?" Ochako asked. "You have glasses and everything!"

"Like I said earlier, ambition and suitability are different matters," Tenya explained, taking a sip of orange juice. "I humbly made the choice that I felt was correct."

"Iida, the way you talk," Ochako giggled. "Are you a rich kid?!"

"A rich kid!" Izuku exclaimed, looking at Ochako. He was surprised by her bluntness.

"I... I don't like people to know, so I try to hide it, but..." Tenya paused dramatically. "Yes. I am the second son of a renowned hero family!"

"Woah!" Ochako exclaimed.

"Cool!" Izuku said at the same time.

"Have you heard of the Turbo Hero Ingenium?" Tenya asked.

"Of course!" Izuku said excitedly, letting his nerd side show a little bit. "He has 65 sidekicks at his own office in Tokyo!"

"You... are very well informed..." Tenya said, shocked at his friend's quick recollection of those facts. He pushed up his glasses as he explained "Well, you see, I am his younger brother!"

"Wow, he's so frank about it!" Ochako observed.

"He leads people with absolute adherence to the rules, and is a truly beloved hero! It is my admiration for my brother that inspired my own determination to become a hero!" Tenya smiled and looked at his friends. "Although, I realize that I am not ready to lead anyone yet. That's why that role should rightfully go to Yaoyorozu or you, Midoriya, as superior candidates."

Ochako and Izuku stared at Tenya for a moment, shocked and with their mouths agape. Izuku slowly smiled back, while Ochako stayed mystified.

"Never seen you smile before, Iida," Ochako said, still reeling from the shock of his smiling face.

"Eh?" Tenya seemed genuinely shocked. "I do smile on occasion."

Izuku realized that Tenya was inspired by his brother in the same way that he himself was inspired by All Might. He felt a little bit closer to his friend now, like they had another thing in common.

 _VREEEE_

Suddenly, the school's alarm began blaring, overpowering the voices that filled the cafeteria. Ochaco spit up some of the rice she had been eating in surprise.

"The alarm?!" Izuku shouted.

" _Security level 3 has been broken_ ," a robotic voice recording notified over the loudspeaker. " _All students, please evacuate in an orderly fashion._ "

"EXCUSE ME, BUT WHAT IS LEVEL 3?!" Tenya asked an older student nearby.

"It means someone breached the campus!" he shouted back. "It hasn't happened in my 3 years here! Just get outta here!"

As the trio of first years began to stand up, they were forcefully swept into the sea of students erupting in panic.

"A quick response to danger!" Tenya pointed out loudly. "I'd expect no less from such an esteemed institution!"

"Maybe too quick!" Izuku yelled back. "Everyone is panicking!"

Suddenly, someone shouldered their way between the trio, seperating Tenya from Izuku and Ochako.

"Midoriya! Uraraka!" Tenya called, reaching out.

Izuku and Ochako both also called for him and reached, but failed to grab him before he was swallowed by the crowd. The two of them tried their best to stay together, but they also eventually got separated by the crowd. Now alone, Izuku tried his best to analyze the situation. Suddenly though, through the crowd, Izuku saw a few students on the ground getting trampled, and he realized that the panic was only going to make everything worse and get people hurt. Without hesitating, he used his Quirk to jump up and hold himself in midair. He couldn't do it for very long, so he knew he had to calm the crowd down quickly.

"CALM DOWN!!!" he shouted over everyone, prompting most of the students to look up at him. "You're trampling over other people in your panic! Calm down, or you'll just get other people hurt! Behave like you're at U.A.!"

Everyone looked up at him for a moment, before Tenya shouted out from the crowd, "Besides, look outside! It's just the media!"

Izuku followed the sound of Tenya's voice and saw his friend's arm shooting straight up from next to the window. And outside of that window, no doubt, was the press inside of the walls of U.A.

"Y-Yeah, so stop panicking!" Izuku said a little quieter, realizing what he had just done and blushing profusely before lowering back into the crowd.

_

"That was awesome Deku!" Ochako gushed as they met again at the classroom. "You got everyone to stop panicking!"

"Ah, no it wasn't," he said, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm really embarrassed that I did that."

"What are you talking about?" Tenya said, chopping his arms at the class 1-A vice president. "You took the lead and kept calm in what could've been a crisis situation! Ah, if only I could change my vote for class president!" Tenya clenched his fist, looking up and crying tears of pride for his friend.

"Really, it was just in the spur of the moment–" Izuku started before being cut off by Eijiro.

"That's exactly what makes it so damn manly!" he said, clenching his own fist and tearing up in a fashion similar to Tenya.

"Everyone, please quiet down," Aizawa droned as he entered the room. "Dealing with those reporters was tiring, so please give me a break." He stepped into his sleeping bag and zipped it up. "Yaoyorozu, Midoriya, you two pick the other student council members and let me relax."

_

The next day came, and everything was back to normal. The press was no longer hounding the school thanks to police intervention, there were no break-ins, and everything seemed to be normal. Eventually it came time for Basic Hero Training once again, and Aizawa stood at the front of the classroom.

"This time, All Might, myself, and one other pro will supervise," Aizawa sighed, slouching back slightly with his hands in his pockets.

"So it's a special class?" Izuku muttered before receiving a glare from Katsuki.

Hanta Sero, who sat next to Izuku, raised his hand, asking, "Uh, what're we doing, exactly?"

"Preparing you for disaster relief, like fires or floods," Aizawa droned as he held up a card labeled 'RESCUE'. "It's rescue training."

"Ooh, sounds like another rough day," Denki said with a grin.

"Totally, right?!" Mina agreed excitedly.

"This is what being a hero is all about!" Eijiro exclaimed, leaning forward into their conversation. "I'm getting all pumped!"

"I'd be perfect in a flood, kero," Tsuyu said offhandedly.

"I'm not done yet," Aizawa said pointedly, glaring at the talkers who snapped to attention. "You can decide whether you want to wear your costumes, since they might not be well-suited for this kind of activity. The training site is a bit remote, so we'll be getting there by bus. Now, get ready."

Izuku started to get excited. This would be where he could finally start on his way to becoming a hero that could save people. He was determined to put in all of his effort. Unfortunately though, his hero costume hadn't yet been fully repaired. He had knee and elbow guards, gloves, his belt, and a new mouth guard, but he had to wear his gym clothes under it all instead of his green jumpsuit.

As the guys were about to leave the boys' locker room, Izuku glanced over and happened to notice that Hitoshi had already gotten his hero costume, though he had only transferred in a few days ago. He wore a black jumpsuit, and had gloves that went up to his elbows and boots going up to his knees, both lavender similarly to his hair. He had a black utility belt that was barely noticeable against his jumpsuit, and he was currently donning a lavender cloak with a black stripe going down the back. The cloak actually covered most of the rest of his costume, and it hugged his body in an odd way so that it wouldn't hinder his movement. The black stripe led up to an extra piece of fabric at the top that could be used to cover the lower half of his face, and there was a small pull string there. Izuku had no real guess as to what it might do.

"Hey Shinso," Izuku called as he walked over. "Nice costume! I like the cloak!"

"Thanks," Hitoshi said, looking over Izuku's own outfit. "They haven't gotten you a new green jumpsuit yet?"

"No, they haven't finished repairing it yet," Izuku explained as they started to walk out of the locker room. "Hey, I didn't get to see you during the battle training and I've been meaning to ask, but what's your Quirk?"

"Hm?" Hitoshi gave Izuku a confused look for a moment, although he looked bored more than anything thanks to the perpetual bags he had under his eyes, before grinning a bit. "I'll keep that to myself for now."

"If you want, I guess," Izuku sighed disappointedly.

"Hey Deku!" Ochako called as she ran over, wearing her hero outfit except for her helmet. "Where's your costume?"

"The jumpsuit didn't survive the battle training, so the school's support company is fixing it," Izuku said, before tugging on his mouth guard. "I still have the rest though."

"That's a different facemask, right?" she asked, noticing that it had a solid white line instead of the teeth-like pattern of the other one.

"Yeah, most of these are actually replacement gear," Izuku said with a sheepish chuckle.

Ochako leaned forward and looked past Izuku at Hitoshi, saying, "I like your costume, Shinso!"

"Thanks," he replied without looking over at her.

"Come on everyone," Momo called out from the next to the bus. "Let's line up and get onto the bus in an orderly fashion."

It was the kind of bus with seats facing forward in the back, a section of seats in the middle that faced each other, and then a couple seats at the very front that faced forward. Izuku sat in the middle area, with Ochako on one side of him and Tsuyu on the other. On the other side of the frog girl sat Eijiro, while the opposite side of the bus held Denki, Yuga, Mina, and Momo.

"Hey Midoriya," Tsuyu said, turning her oddly blank face towards Izuku. "I generally say what's on my mind."

"Oh? What is it, Asui?" Izuku asked, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"Call me Tsuyu," she reminded him. "What's your Quirk? I've been thinking, but I can't figure it out."

"Now that you mention it, me too," Eijiro agreed. "You launched that ball super far, so I thought that it might be super strength or something, but then you pretty much flew during the Quirk assessment!

"Oh, it's telekinesis," Izuku explained. "I can use it on pretty much anything as long as it's not too heavy, even myself. But it's hard to use it on a person if they struggle against it."

"Telekinesis?" Mina mused. "Isn't that the ability to move things with your mind?"

"How were you able to launch the ball that far though?" Denki asked.

"Well, the strength of my telekinesis depends on the weight of the object," Izuku said. "I could push something small like the ball really fast. The range that I could push it was pretty far too, so I didn't even let go of it until almost halfway through the ball's flight."

"If it depends on the weight, then how did you move so fast when you were escaping Bakugo?" Momo asked. "It seemed like you were going about the same speed as the ball."

Katsuki, who was sitting in the front of the forward seating section, leaned forward. He was plenty interested in the tricks of his childhood friend's Quirk.

"It's because of my Quirk, Zero Gravity!" Ochako said proudly. "I can make things weightless!"

"If my math is right, then, assuming the relationship between weight and effectiveness is a ratio, that means that you can move weightless things at infinity meters per second?!" Momo exclaimed. "That's pretty much teleporting!"

"Except for going through walls," Izuku laughed sheepishly. "And wind resistance alone would probably incinerate anything going that fast."

"Also, my Quirk has a weight limit of a couple tons," Ochako added.

"Still, imagine being able to launch a two ton chunk of debris faster than a bullet!" Eijiro exclaimed. "That's so damn manly!"

"You two should become a hero duo when you go pro, kero," Tsuyu said, placing her index finger on her chin.

"You guys would go up in the ratings super fast with moves like that," Eijiro said. "It's way better than my Hardening." Eijiro's arm became rigid and sharp-looking in demonstration. "It's good in a fight, but it's pretty boring."

"I don't think it's boring," Izuku said, looking at Eijiro's arm intently. "It's more than good enough if you want to go pro!"

"Pros need popular appeal too, not just a strong Quirk," Yuga said, flashing a smile. "My Navel Laser is both strong _and_ flashy!"

"If you don't destroy your stomach in the middle of a fight," Mina giggled, much to Yuga's discomfort. "You wanna talk strong and cool? That'd be Todoroki and Bakugo."

"But Bakugo won't ever be popular," Tsuyu said nonchalantly. "He's too unhinged."

"The fuck did you say, Frog Face?!" Katsuki shouted.

Tsuyu turned to Izuku. "See?"

Denki grinned, saying, "But I'd bet Midoriya and Uraraka would be _real_ popular as a hero duo! They look pretty cute together, don't you guys think so?"

While the others present nodded their heads in agreement, Izuku and Ochako both started blushing profusely. Katsuki, who knew that Izuku and Ochako weren't dating, burst out laughing at Izuku's red face.

"What's so funny?" Denki asked him, unaware of the effects of his comment.

"Deku and Round Face aren't fucking dating! AHAHAHA!" He started laughing again when he saw their ripe tomato faces and pointed at them.

"Wha-wha-wha-wha-wha–!" Ochako stuttered, covering her red face and scooting away from Izuku all the way against the arm rest.

Izuku also scooted slightly closer to Tsuyu with one hand on his face, but he seemed to be handling it a little bit better than Ochako.

"S-Sorry," Denki laughed uncomfortably. "I-I just assumed since, you know, you two seem... really close?"

"Really, I thought so too," Mina agreed, nodding her head. "I mean, you guys didn't hold hands or make out or anything, but you do seem close."

Both Ochako and Izuku shrunk in on themselves a little bit more.

"Ashido," Momo scolded, "that only made it worse!"

"Well, I guess if that's the case," Mina grinned and looked at Izuku, who was just barely cognizant enough of himself to look back at her through his hand. "Midoriya, you're single?" She winked at him.

"W-What?!" Izuku squeaked, looking up from his hand.

Ochako looked up a little and glared at Mina, while Katsuki keeled over in his seat from laughter.

"I'm just kidding, jeez!" Mina laughed, waving her hand at Izuku. "I like you guys! You're fun to mess with!"

"That's cruel Ashido, kero," Tsuyu commented, still retaining her blank face.

"Yeah man," Eijiro said, barely holding back his own laughter. "C-Cruel."

Mina glanced over at Ochako, who was still glaring. She gave the gravity girl a wink and a knowing smile, and Ochako instantly reverted to covering her face with her hands.

"Can't you guys go five minutes without finding something to scream about?" Aizawa called out over the group of kids, who quickly silenced themselves. "We're here."

As they walked into the building next to each other, Izuku and Ochako looked everywhere except _at_ each other. Once they were inside though, Izuku quickly saw the facility they were in and forgot about the earlier embarrassment as he took in the sights. There were multiple zones in the building that were each dedicated to a different type of disaster, from landslides to raging fires to hurricanes.

"There's the flood zone, landslide zone, conflagration zone, etcetera," came a voice from in front of the group, who the students soon saw to be the Space Hero Thirteen. "This facility houses training for every disaster and accident you can imagine. I built it myself. It's called the 'Unforseen Simulation Joint'!"

"Woah!" Izuku and Ochako both exclaimed.

Izuku whispered excitedly, "It's the Space Hero, Thirteen!"

"He's a gentleman hero who does his best work in rescue situations!" Ochako gushed. "He's my favorite hero!"

"Thirteen, where's All Might?" Aizawa asked, sounding annoyed. "He was supposed to meet us here, right?"

"About that, senpai," Thirteen said, motioning for Aizawa to get closer. He held up 3 fingers and whispered so that the students wouldn't hear, " _It seems that he reached his 3-hour time limit earlier today during his commute. He's resting in the break room_."

Izuku realized from Thirteen's hand gesture that All Might's time limit was probably up. ' _All Might really shouldn't be a teacher if he needs that time to be a hero,_ ' he thought.

"The height of irrationality," Aizawa sighed, shaking his head and turning back towards the students. "Whatever, let's get started."

"Before we do though, I do have two or three points," Thirteen said, facing the students. "Or four... five..? Anyway, my Quirk is Black Hole. It can suck in and take apart anything."

"And you've used it to save lots of people in all sorts of disasters!" Izuku said while Ochako violently nodded her head next to him.

"Indeed, but it is also a power that could easily kill someone." The students all became more solemn as Thirteen spoke. "In our super powered society, the use of Quirks is heavily restricted and monitored. You may think that this is a stable system, but all it takes is one wrong move with an uncontrollable Quirk for someone to die.

"During Aizawa's fitness test, you all brought out your Quirks' potential. During All Might's battle training, you saw the threat that those Quirks can pose through your own eyes. This class will show you how to utilize that power to save lives! Your powers aren't meant to inflict harm. I hope you all leave here today understanding that they're there so you can help people. That is all! I thank you for listening!" Thirteen took a bow.

"Bravo! Bravooo!!" Tenya applauded.

"Wow, Thirteen is so cool, huh Deku?" Ochako said, looking at her friend.

"Yeah, really!" Izuku agreed, looking back at her.

As soon as the two of them made eye contact, they looked away from each other and blushed, remembering their friends' teasing.

"Great, great," Aizawa sighed. "First off, let's..."

A whooshing sound became apparent from below the class. Aizawa stopped talking and turned to look down the stairs, followed by his students doing the same. A black swirling mist was present in front of the fountain, and it slowly grew as a hand reached out from seemingly nowhere and clutched the edge of it. Soon, it was big enough to see the back of another hand reaching up. A hand with shaggy light blue hair and an agitated bright red eye behind it, glaring at them.

_

 **Notes: I hate to leave it here, kinda, but it's not like you don't know the gist of what's coming.**

 **Also some bad news, but I'm going to be going on a trip this week and I'm pretty much going to be cut off from all technology. So I won't be able to see your feedback, and the next chapter will probably be delayed. Sorry, but it isn't really avoidable.**

 **Still, I want to thank you all again for giving me feedback and support in this fic so far. Of course, I'm not exactly happy that I couldn't please everyone, but that was inevitable. I know I'm not the greatest writer out there, and might make a few** **mistakes, but I'll (try to) get better with time. So I'll see you all in the next chapter!**


	9. The World of the Pros

**Hey all! I'm back with the biggest chapter I've ever written! The entire USJ attack in one chapter! WOW that was actually pretty fun to write! This chapter is more than twice the length of some of the other chapters. I could've split it into two, but I skipped a week, so this is making up for that a little bit! Most of the students went to different zones, but I won't be showing the mountain or windstorm/downpour zones because they went unchanged. Initially, I did have Izuku go to the flood zone again, but I did (you guessed it) IMMENSE AMOUNTS OF REWRITES! This chapter somehow increased by almost 3,000 words since its initial write, but I'm glad. I'm proud of what I did here.**

 **Also HUGE THANKS for over 600 follows and 480 favorites! You guys continue to amaze me with the support for this fic! It feels like I'm announcing some milestone every chapter, but I really do mean it when I say that it means a lot that you guys are enjoying this. I hope you continue to enjoy!**

 **Random-Cliche-Name** **: Who said he'd go to the boat again?** **Ehehehe...**

 **Sandman001: Dunno, we'll see. Izuku was the top scorer in both the practical exam and Aizawa's Quirk exam, so maybe, maybe not**

 **LoveGlutton: No, Japan doesn't have a Congress, but it was actually a line straight from the manga. So I assume they learned about it in their classes about world government/history. The whole thing about them being cute together was due to the misunderstanding when Ochako told Denki that Izuku had taken her to a restaurant. He wrongly assumed that they were dating.**

 **CallMeOutPlease: Well, I've thought a lot about how OFA will work with the Telekinesis, and you'll just have to wait and see.** **IF HE GETS OFA AT ALL! NOT CONFIRMING ANYTHING.**

 **Scouter45: I don't like to respond to comments on older chapters because it feels out of order, but I felt like I should address this. Aizawa held that physical Quirk exam because the entrance exam they had was physical. Hitoshi would be held to a separate standard.**

 **Mystolon: Which AN? I checked, but the only character I remember saying would get stronger was Katsuki. And I don't thinking I'm nerfing the telekinesis. His Quirk has limits, just like everyone else's.**

 **Thanks to everyone who left encouraging comments and advice! It means a ton to me! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 _I_ _do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _The World of the Pros_

"Everybody!" Aizawa shouted, looking back at his class. "Huddle up and don't move!"

The students gathered together hesitantly, not entirely sure what was going on. They whispered about whether this was real, or just some test from the teachers. Suddenly, the black mist expanded and ten... No, twenty... Forty... More than a hundred people ran out of the darkness, and Aizawa visibly tensed.

"What're those?" Eijiro asked, squinting down at the people. "U.A. employees? More robots like the entrance exam?"

"Don't move!" Aizawa shouted, pulling back his scarf and pulling up yellow goggles from the fabric. Fastening the eyewear to his face, he scowled. "Those are real villains!"

"Those goggles!" Izuku gasped in realization. "Aizawa Sensei is the Erasure Hero, Eraserhead!"

"Eraserhead?" Eijiro asked. "Never heard of him."

"I have," Hitoshi said, narrowing his eyes and grinning. "He's an underground hero. He doesn't like the attention of media."

"But those are... real villains?" Eijiro asked. "What villains would be stupid enough to break into U.A.?"

"Sensei," Momo asked Thirteen, "aren't there intruder sensors around the school?"

"Of course there are!" Thirteen said, sounding at a loss.

"Are they only here, or at the main building too?" Shoto asked. "Either way, if they can get past the sensors, it has to be one of their Quirks that's doing that. Also, this building is far from the campus, and they picked a time when there'd be few people here. They may be smarter than they seem. This attack is too well-coordinated for them not to have an objective."

Most of the class was shocked by Shoto's analysis, but Izuku had been thinking along the same lines.

Aizawa turned back, yelling, "Thirteen! Begin evacuation and try calling the school! If one of their Quirks _is_ jamming the sensors, it's probably an electric-type Quirk causing interference. Kaminari, try using your Quirk to signal for help!"

"G-Got it!" Denki confirmed, fiddling with his headset.

"Sensei, you can't fight them all alone!" Izuku said. "Against so many, you won't be able to erase all of their Quirks! As Eraserhead, your fighting style relies on erasure and quick capture! Head-on fighting isn't–!"

"No good hero is a one trick pony, Midoriya!" Eraserhead called back. "Thirteen, take care of the students!"

Then Aizawa jumped down the stairs, unraveling the cloth around his neck as his hair shot up on end. Izuku saw several villains approach him and then hesitate in confusion, before Aizawa brought the cloth around them and slammed their heads together. He fought hand-to-hand, and overpowered and outsmarted the stunned villains.

"He's keeping up even though he's outnumbered!" Izuku gasped.

Ochako grabbed Izuku's arm and whipped him around, saying, "C'mon Deku! Time to go!"

"Now isn't the time for analysis," Tenya agreed. "We must evacuate!"

As Izuku turned to evacuate with his classmates, the black mist that was in front of the fountain materialized in between them and the entrance. Izuku wasn't sure, but he thought that the two yellow streaks at the top of the mist resembled some kind of eyes.

"Sorry, but I can't allow that!" A deep, proper-sounding voice announced. "Greetings, heroes and heroes-to-be! We are the League of Villains! I apologize for our audacity, but... Today, we've come to U.A.–this bastion of heroism–to end the life of All Might, the Symbol of Peace!" For that one moment, his proper tone became a bit darker, before normalizing again. "We were under the impression that he'd be here today, but it seems his schedule was revised... No matter! My personal role is not affec–"

Suddenly, Katsuki and Eijiro jumped up at the mist. Katsuki let an explosion loose against the darkness, followed by a forceful kick from Eijiro.

"Not if we kill you first!" Katsuki snarled.

"Heh," Eijiro huffed, pointing his thumb up at himself. "Betcha didn't see that coming!"

"Well, that _was_ close," the mist chuckled, emerging from the smoke. "Although you're only students, you really are the best of the best! It might prove troublesome if you were allowed to stay here..."

"No, get back!" Thirteen shouted, but it was too late.

" _B_ _egone!_ " The mist rapidly expanded, covering most of the class.

Seeing his friends each get swallowed up by the darkness, Izuku quickly turned and reached out to Ochako, shouting, "Uraraka!"

Their hands missed each other and as Izuku's vision filled with blackness, the last thing he saw was Tenya grabbing Ochako while holding Rikido in his other arm. Izuku felt a cold blast of air hit him as he shut his eyes, and when he opened them, he was falling above the collapsed zone. He looked around and noticed that Mina Ashido and Mashirao Ojiro were falling with him. He called out to grab their attention, then used his Quirk to maneuver within 15 meters of them both. Before they hit the ground, Izuku was able to slow their fall enough to land safely.

"Thanks Midoriya," Mina said as she stood up with a bright smile.

"Yes, I also owe you my thanks," Mashirao said, bowing his head.

"Ah, no! No need," Izuku said sincerely. "We should focus on our current situation right now."

"Of course, you are right," Mashirao said.

"Well, U.A. is being invaded by a 'League of Villains'," Mina said, holding her fingers up in air quotes. " _Totally_ easy to focus under these conditions."

"Ashido, this is serious," Izuku said. "They knew that All Might should've been here... They somehow knew U.A.'s schedule. They probably used that media invasion yesterday as a cover to get in and get intel..."

"They said they came to kill All Might," Mina recalled. "But there's no way, right? Like, he's _All Might_!"

"Ashido, they wouldn't come here if they didn't think they could beat him," Mashirao reasoned.

"I hate to admit it, but he's right," Izuku agreed. "This attack is too organized for them to be that stupid."

"THERE YOU ARE!" a gruff voice shouted at the three students. They looked up and saw a large group of villains walking at them, headed by an emaciated and pale bald man with a scar across his shirtless torso (In fact, his only clothing was a pair of grey shorts with a giant hole on one leg, and he held a machete). "AHAHA! Finally, time to collect our payment! A few young FLESH BAGS TO MAIM!"

"M-Maim?" Mina asked, before chuckling nervously, "Ahah, h-how about no?"

Izuku used his Quirk to grab bits of rubble lying around the street they stood on. He launched them at the villains, knocking a few of them out while some managed to dodge. Those remaining ran at the aspiring heroes, only to meet their match in Ojiro. He dodged and countered, holding them back while Izuku pelted them with more debris. They couldn't deal with both of their attacks, and they were all eventually knocked unconscious.

"Woah, you two are real cool!" Mina exclaimed. "Ojiro, you dodge really well!"

"Ah... Um, thank you, Ashido," Mashirao said with a nod.

"That's strange," Izuku muttered. "It seemed like they knew about our class, but I guess they aren't as informed as they should be."

"What do you mean by that?" Mashirao inquired, quirking an eyebrow.

"They put me in the collapsed zone, where there's plenty of rubble for me to manipulate."

"Ooh, so they don't know all of our Quirks?" Mina inferred.

"That's my guess," Izuku confirmed.

"Hey, I think they're over here!" a shrill voice squawked nearby as the young students heard footsteps bounding closer.

Looking around, Izuku noticed that there were no more chunks of crumbled buildings or debris that were the optimal size for his Quirk. Glancing at Mashirao and then at Mina, a plan formed in his head.

"What's that you're muttering about, Midori?" Mina asked.

"Oh, I was just–" Izuku began explaining before catching what she called him. "Midori?"

"Ah, your name's too long," she said, waving her hand. She grinned, "Midori is way cuter, and also quicker!"

"A-Ah, I guess it's faster," Izuku nervously chuckled, scratching his cheek.

"Midoriya, do you have a plan?" Mashirao asked.

"Oh, right!" Izuku remembered. "Ashido, use your acid to break down the big pieces of debris and buildings into smaller chunks. Ojiro, you and I will work together to hold them back."

"How big do you want em?" Mina asked as she began melting a large piece of concrete in half.

"About the size of a backpack is good, maybe a little bigger," Izuku said. "Oh, and can you control the acid's strength?"

"Yep! Sure can!"

"That's great! Coat the pieces in a weaker acid that can't break down concrete, but can burn skin. That way, it'll be more effective!"

"Oh, good thinking Midori!" Mina said, smiling widely at the Telekinesis user.

Mina had prepared a couple of projectiles by the time the villains rounded the corner of their street. Mashirao ran at them while Izuku launched a ranged assault, trying to hit them with his telekinetically controlled acid-covered pieces of concrete. If they dodged the floating makeshift weapons, Mashiro took advantage of their openings. If they dodged the tailed teen's martial arts, they got burned and beaten by the acid-covered projectiles. More were added to the flurry by Mina until they became unavoidable, and the villains were defeated after a few minutes of their effort.

_

At the front entrance, where everyone had been gathered moments ago, there were only a few students left along with Thirteen to face the dark mist.

"Where is everyone else?" Tenya asked, looking around at Ochako, Rikido, Mezo, Hanta, and Thirteen. "Can we confirm their locations?"

Mezo formed an ear on one of his appendages, before confirming, "They're all scattered inside of this building."

"Physical attacks won't work if this guy can just warp away," Hanta sighed as the mist collected itself in a single smaller mass. "This guy's Quirk is too much to handle."

"Iida!" Thirteen called as he came to a realization.

"Yes, Sensei!" Tenya replied, at attention.

"With your Quirk, you need to get back to the school and report what's happening! The alarms aren't sounding and the phones aren't working. With Aizawa erasing the villains' Quirks, that means that whomever is jamming the signal is hidden elsewhere! Our best option right now is for you to go back to U.A.!"

"I can't just abandon–"

"Just go, Iida!" Rikido shouted. "There are alarms outside, so that means the villains must only be in here!"

"And they can't follow you!" Hanta said as well. "Just go fast!"

"Please, use your Quirk to save us all," Thirteen pleaded.

"We got your back, Iida!" Ochako assured with the others nodding in agreement. "Do it!"

"Aside from the fact that it's hopeless anyways," the mist mocked, looking over them, "the fact that you're discussing this plan where I can here it is foolish!"

"It doesn't matter if you can hear it," Thirteen said, opening a latch on the tip of his glove. "You can't stop us!"

_

Hitoshi hit the water hard. Luckily, he looked down and had been able to take a breath before plunging into the flood zone. He blinked, adjusting his eyes to being underwater, only to see a villain with gills upon him. Before the villain reached him though, Tsuyu Asui came and kicked him in the side. She wrapped her tongue around Hitoshi and brought him up to the surface, allowing him to take a couple of breaths before tossing him over the side of a large boat.

Hitoshi coughed, leaning down on all fours as he gasped for air. He looked up at Tsuyu as she climbed over the side of the boat as well, and panted, "You could've been more careful, Asui."

"Call me Tsuyu," she reminded him. "Kero."

"Yeah," he sighed, "thanks Tsuyu."

"Don't mention it," she shrugged, before turning and looking over the water. "They said they came to kill All Might, kero."

"They wouldn't have come if they didn't have some plan," Hitoshi said, slowly standing up.

Tsuyu turned and tilted her head at him. "And they said they'd kill us, too. We'll have to hold out until the pros get here. But even then, these guys think they can kill All Might, kero. What other pro can keep up with that?"

Hitoshi looked past his froggy classmate and saw multiple heads poke out of the water. "We just have to deal with it. Time for me to get to work."

"What'll you do, kero?" Tsuyu asked. "I'm good in water, so I should–"

"Just watch," Hitoshi interrupted her. This was no time to be chatting.

He climbed up onto the side of the boat, taking a moment to balance himself before looking down over the villains in the water. A couple of more heads popped up out of the water.

"The hell are ye doin up there?!" one villain rasped up at him.

"Waiting for us to shoot you down or something?" another one called in a much more normal sounding voice.

Hitoshi scoffed, "Heh, no problems over here! I just need verbal consent for what I'm about to do to you!" A few villains yelled at and mocked him, making him crack a grin. "So, how about it? Who's too chicken to fight a high schooler like me?!"

The villains below exploded in a chorus of retorts and threats, until Hitoshi activated his Quirk. He didn't know what to expect since he'd never used his Quirk on over 20 people simultaneously, but a sharp pang of pain shot through his head as their consciousnesses put pressure on his mind.

"Ah," he grunted, putting a hand on the side of his head as he stumbled back against the boat's cabin.

"Are you okay?" Tsuyu asked, though that just added to the pain of his headache.

"It's just... a lot to use my Quirk on so many people... I don't know how long I'll last, so... I'll make this quick." Hitoshi pushed himself back to the railing of the boat and shouted out over the mind controlled villains, "GO BEAT THE HELL OUTTA WHOEVER IS IN CHARGE OF YOUR LITTLE ATTACK!"

As they turned and swam towards the shore of the flood zone, Hitoshi collapsed, clutching at his head. He felt Tsuyu's hand on his shoulder, but she didn't say anything. Either that, or it was drowned out by the pounding pressure in his brain. He pushed through the pain for what felt like ages before he heard Tsuyu speak.

"They're far enough away now, kero. You can release your Quirk."

Hitoshi felt like a hundred pounds of pressure were lifted from his head. He screamed and breathed and relaxed and clenched his fists as he pressed his forehead into the ground. His heartbeat pounded in his head and he became aware of his hyperventilating. After taking a moment to collect himself, he lifted his half sore/half numb body and looked at the villains who were now up out of the water. The villain covered in disembodied hands was yelling at the water villains, who just seemed confused.

"Come on, let's go before they come back, kero," Tsuyu suggested, tapping Hitoshi's shoulder.

"Right," he sighed before he followed her down into the water.

_

Looking down, Shoto Todoroki saw what looked like a small cityscape engulfed in flames. He reacted quickly, making a slide out of ice so that he'd land safely. He thought he heard a noise behind him, like someone else was on the slide, but nobody was there. It was hard to tell due to the crackling of the flames around him, so he chalked it up to his imagination.

The flames annoyed Shoto. Aside from the distracting noise and movement, they reminded him of his father, and it put him on edge. Of course, they just had to drop him here.

"Look what we got here!" called out a feminine voice to his right.

Shoto didn't hesitate, just shot out a pillar of ice that encased about a quarter of the conflagration zone. Normally that would've chilled him a bit, but the fire around him seemed to help keep him from overcooling.

"What the hell?!" the woman with purple hair screamed as her entire body was encased in ice. Several villains behind her who also got caught by his attack shared the sentiment.

"If you're in there for too long, you'll get frostbite," Shoto deadpanned, walking towards her. "I'm trying to be a hero, so please don't make me do something disagreeable."

"Dumbass, this ice will melt in no time!" she laughed. "And I bet that took most of your power, since it was such a big attack. I'll just kill you once I get out of here!"

Shoto looked around at the flames once again. True, the villains would fully thaw within minutes. So, he did the sensible thing and began freezing the entire zone. It took a couple of blasts since the fire weakened his ice slightly, but there was eventually no fire left. He cocked his head back towards the woman.

"So, now you'll tell me everything about your 'League of Villains' and what your objective is. Or your body will become unusable."

"Y-You wouldn't, right?" she chuckled nervously.

"I'm in a bad mood now, so yeah I would," he said, looking her in the eye.

_

Katsuki set off explosions below himself, slowing his descent into the landslide zone. While he did so, he saw Eijiro diving past him. The redhead landed face-first, imbedding his head in the soft dirt ground.

"Oi, shitty hair!" Katsuki yelled as he landed and ran over. "The hell are you doing, dumbass?!"

Eijiro's arms pressed into the floor and he pulled his head up, leaving a hole in the ground. "Man, that was a rush!" He turned to Katsuki while trying to knock dirt from his ears. "Oh, hey Bakugo! I guess we're in this together my man!"

"You... are a fucking dumbass," Katsuki growled, placing his hand on his forehead.

"Yo bro, WATCH OUT!" Eijiro shouted, jumping in front of Katsuki and blocking a leaf that actually cut his hardened arm. "Damn, what the hell?! What kinda leaf can cut through my hardening?!"

"Ahahaha!" The villain was tall, with a dark plastic mask covering the top right quarter of his head. Long silver hair hung down to about his shoulder on his left, and his left eye had a white iris. He had a somewhat elegantly adorned metal chest piece, and he had metal gauntlets and greaves, with black clothing underneath. He called out in his deep, calm voice as other villains began appearing around the heroes-in-training, "So, you're our prey? Humph, Shigaraki put me in the wrong zone then. Whatever, maybe you'll be able to give me a little bit of entertainment."

The villain flexed his fingers. There were multiple trees in the debris of the landslide zone, and all of the leaves on their branches disconnected and oriented themselves at the blonde and redhead.

"Oi dumbass," Katsuki whispered, "get on my back when I give the signal."

"Huh? W-Why?" Eijiro looked seriously put off by Katsuki's suggestion.

"I don't really like it, but it's probably the only way I won't kill you." He tapped his gauntlet and pointed at the pin.

Eijiro's eyes widened in understanding and he nodded his head, before placing his hands on Katsuki's shoulders. Katsuki aimed straight down and glared up at the villain. The villain in question flicked his fingers, and the leaves all shot at the two students.

"Fucking NOW!" Katsuki shouted.

Eijiro gripped onto Katsuki and lifted his feet off of the ground, and the blonde jumped before letting rip the massive explosion. Every single leaf was incinerated in the blast, and the shockwave propelled the students up and knocked multiple villains over.

"Why you!" The leaf villain shouted up at the teens.

"Yo, that was super manly!" Eijiro said excitedly as they continued going upward.

"Shut the hell up, shitty hair!" Katsuki shouted back.

"Hey, I just got a super manly idea!" the redhead grinned. "Throw me down there with an explosion!"

"Do you wanna fucking die?!"

"No, man! I'll use my hardening, and I'll be just like a human cannonball!"

Katsuki cracked a grin and chuckled, "Alright, if you say so!"

He repositioned Eijiro in midair and planted his hand on his feet, aiming at the largest group of villains below them.

Once their upward momentum died, Eijiro shouted, "Now!"

"DIE!!" Katsuki shouted as he blasted Eijiro straight down.

The hardening teen screeched, and Katsuki couldn't help but chuckle at how unmanly it was. He followed Eijiro down, propelling himself with explosions. The villains panicked and failed to get out of the human cannonball's way, mostly getting knocked unconscious instead. Eijiro got up faster than Katsuki expected and started fighting the villains with his hardened fists, which Katsuki did with his explosions once he joined him.

Katsuki was having a blast. He was finally able to cut loose and take out villains, though they weren't exactly able to match up with his skill. And he had to admit, he was impressed by Eijiro's grit and 'manliness'. He got some respect in Katsuki's book.

"Wooh, what a workout!" Eijiro wiped sweat from his brow "Now, let's go help the others! Since we're here, everyone else is probably still in USJ too. Some people don't have the same combat abilities as us, so I'm worried about them. Besides, we were the ones who charged the villain like that and probably gave Thirteen Sensei more work. As men, we've gotta–"

"Fuck that, you can go it alone," Katsuki grunted. "I've got a grudge to settle with that misty fucker."

"Huh?!" Eijiro exclaimed. "What's with you and grudges, man? This isn't the time to be immature! Besides, regular attacks don't affect him!"

"Fuck off with that," Katsuki waved his hand. "He's their mode of transportation. If he goes down, they can't run away. Besides, I _do_ have a way to take him down, idiot." Katsuki turned and slammed a villain who was sneaking up on him into the ground. "Besides, if these are the best they've got, we shouldn't have any trouble."

"Woah, where'd this calm, rational side come from?" Eijiro snickered.

"I'M ALWAYS CALM, SHITTY HAIR!"

"Aha! You're back!"

"Whatever, I'm gonna go find that asshole," Katsuki scoffed, turning and walking away.

"Hold up, bro!" Eijiro ran up next to him, hitting his fist into his palm. "A man's gotta trust his comrades, and you convinced me!"

"Heh," Katsuki grinned. "Damn straight."

_

Izuku and co. walked through the streets, searching for the edge of the collapsed zone. the green teen kept his eyes open and picked up little rocks and bits of rubble as they walked.

"Why you picking those up?" Mina asked, tilting her head curiously at the boy.

"Ammunition," Izuku said as he added another stone to the pile in his arms. "If we run into more villains, I need to have something to use my Quirk on."

They walked for a bit longer until they finally emerged into the main plaza, where they elected to hide behind a broken concrete pillar that laid on its side at the edge of the collapsed zone. Izuku looked around at the other zones. He heard explosions and screaming in the landslide zone next to them, so he assumed Katsuki was there. He couldn't tell what was going on in the mountain zone. There was a zone that was mostly covered in ice and had few large ice pillars jutting out from it, though he was sure it used to be on fire. Across from them was the flood zone, and Izuku could see Tsuyu and Hitoshi in the water, moving towards the plaza. There was a dome next to it, though he didn't know what was in there. He looked up at the entrance of USJ and noticed that there were still students up there, including Ochako. He looked, finally, at Aizawa as he fought back the villains in the plaza.

"Aizawa Sensei is drawing a lot of villains there," Mina said suddenly, leaning next to Izuku.

"He is," Izuku agreed, looking over the plaza. There were more than too many villains there, and it was obvious that Eraserhead was slowing down. "... There are too many of them. He's definitely holding his own, but there are too many villains. He knew that, but he still jumped in to protect us..."

"Are... you serious?" Mina asked nervously.

"Serious about what?" Mashirao asked, before piecing it together in his head. "Actually, I think that we should go down and help too."

"I'm not saying that we should fight head-on with them," Izuku said to Mina, "but we should at least look for any opening to lighten his load."

Aizawa darted through villain after villain, making his way to the one with bluish hair and disembodied hands around his body. All the while, the hand villain was quietly counting, until he reached out and grabbed the hero's elbow. It started unnaturally crumbling to dust in his grip, causing Eraserhead to shout in pain and jump back.

"It's hard to notice when you're jumping around like that, but there's a little moment where your hair falls back down in front of your face," the villain rasped. "And your max duration is getting shorter and shorter! Don't push yourself, Eraserhead!"

Aizawa socked the villain on the side of the head, where the hand didn't cover, before kicking him to the ground. Two other villains attacked the pro hero, but he skillfully avoided them both and countered.

Slowly picking himself up, the hands villain continued, "Your Quirk isn't very good in long battles, huh? You normally specialize in quick sneak attacks, yet you jumped right into this fight to make _them_ feel safe." He began chuckling quietly. "So cool, so cool. Oh, and by the way, hero... I'm not the biggest bad guy here!"

Aizawa barely had enough time to turn around and look up at the hulking beast before it grabbed him and slammed him into the floor. Its skin was an unnatural, leathery blackish blue, its brain was fully visible on the top of its head, and it had a yellow metal beak instead of regular lips. It didn't say anything, but gargled incomprehensible sounds as it broke Eraserhead's arm.

_

As Thirteen unleashed his Quirk on the mist, trying to suck it up, the mist chuckled, "Oh, Thirteen... It looks as if even the best rescue heroes can't measure up to ordinary combat heroes in a fight!"

Suddenly the mist swirled, and a second mass of darkness manifested behind Thirteen. His Black Hole ended up being sent through the portal, destroying his own back instead of the villain.

"Sensei!" Ochako, Tenya, and Mina yelled.

' _He warped my Quirk?_ ' Thirteen thought. ' _I'm done for!_ '

"Iida, he told you to run!" Rikido shouted to the Engine Quirked teen.

"Damnit!" Tenya yelled in frustration, before shooting off towards the entrance.

"Poor scattered children," the warping villain teased, appearing in front of Tenya.

Suddenly, Mezo jumped in with his six webbed arms and wrapped up the villain. "Go Iida! I've got him!" he yelled.

' _Damn!_ ' Tenya shot off again. ' _Everyone... Please hang on!!!_ '

Suddenly, as Tenya was about to reach the door, the villain warped towards him again out of Mezo's grasp. Ochako saw the glint of something metal in the mist, and ran after him.

"You underestimated me, Four-Eyes!" the cloud laughed as he cut off Tenya. "Now, vanish!"

Ochako grabbed the metal. "I don't know exactly why you're wearing this thing, but that must mean that you have a real body!" She flung him up towards the ceiling, no gravity to stop his altitude gains. "Run for it Iida!"

"As if–" the villain started, but cut himself off as Hanta's tape caught him in midair.

"Go Iida!" he yelled.

And with that, Tenya booked it for U.A. High's main campus.

"If he calls for back up, it's game over..." the warp villain sighed in disappointment before disappearing completely.

_

Izuku couldn't believe what he was seeing, and apparently, neither could Mina or Mashirao. They all stared in utter shock and fear at the giant villain that held their teacher to the ground with one hand, and gripped his broken arm in the other. Villains, what heroes dealt with every day... They hadn't seen _anything_ yet!

"C-Can you get him off of Sensei?" Mina asked Izuku, her normally peppy demeanor cracking a bit.

"H-He's out of m-my range," Izuku stuttered, unable to look away from the horrible scene. "B-Besides, that guy might be too heavy anyway." He noticed that Tsuyu and Hitoshi were watching with equally shocked expressions from the water.

"Eraserhead, meet the Anti-Symbol of Peace," the hands villain said proudly. "The bioengineered Nomu!" The villain strolled around Nomu to get a better look at Eraserhead, who was struggling to get up before his head was slammed again into the floor. "Erasing Quirks is pretty useful... But against this guy's insane strength, you might as well be completely Quirkless."

Nomu reached down and grabbed Aizawa's other arm roughly before snapping it like he had the other arm.

"GRRAGH!" Aizawa yelled, gritting his teeth. ' _He snapped my arm like a twig! I_ _definitely nullified his Quirk... That means that this is just his base strength! He might be as strong as All Might..._ '

Nomu lifted the hero's head up once again and slammed it back into the ground.

"T-This isn't good," Mashirao said nervously.

"Yeah!" Mina agreed, lowering behind the concrete and looking away.

Suddenly, the black warping villain appeared next to the hands villain, saying, "Tomura Shigaraki..."

"Kurogiri?" Tomura addressed the other villain. "Is Thirteen dead?"

"He's incapacitated, but..." Kurogiri hesitated, as if afraid of Tomura's reaction. "There were some students that I couldn't warp away and... one escaped."

"Oh? Huh..." Tomura started scratching his neck, and soon began doing it more violently. "Kurogiri... If you weren't our way out, you'd be ashes now. We don't stand a chance against a bunch of pros... It's game over. For now... We're leaving."

"Leaving?!" Mina gasped, jumping back around to look over the pillar again. "We're saved!"

"No," Mashirao shook his head. "Just leaving after putting in so much effort... I guess it'd be logical to avoid any more losses, but the hands don't make me think he's the logical type."

"Yeah," Izuku agreed too. "Besides, there's no way U.A. would let this happen again, and they'd lose their shot at All Might."

"But before we go," Tomura said, turning his head toward the trio who had thought they were hidden, "let's leave some dead kids!"

The gap was closed quicker than any of them would've thought. Tomura was upon them in less than two seconds, reaching for Mina's face. But right before he made contact, he stopped in his tracks and was covered by a faint green aura.

"Eh?" he grumbled, trying to move his arm. "What the hell is this?"

"You aren't going to touch her!" Izuku yelled, getting up on top of the concrete pillar. No one could see, but Izuku could feel that Tomura suddenly began to struggle against his Quirk's hold.

"No... No! Nomu!" Tomura shouted in frustration.

Izuku didn't even see movement before Nomu grabbed his right arm and held him up by it. After a few seconds, although Nomu barely visibly moved, Izuku felt the beast tighten its grip and his entire forearm suddenly shattered. He let out an extremely pained screech as he grabbed at Nomu's arm with his other hand.

"Well, whatever," Tomura sighed before reaching down and grabbing Mina's face before she could get away. But nothing happened. Looking back at Aizawa, whose face was up and glaring at him, Tomura chuckled, "Heh... You really are cool, huh?"

"DEKU!" Ochako shouted down as she ran down the steps. When she heard his scream she looked over, and when she saw his arm in the vice grip of that villain how couldn't she run down there?

Izuku tried to pry open Nomu's fingers with his Quirk, but they held their grip tighter than his Telekinesis could fight. Then he tried using the rocks and rubble he'd collected to attack, though they had no effect at all. Suddenly, the sliding doors to USJ were blown open with incredible force, causing every student, hero, and villain still conscious to look up. Even Ochako, who actually tripped and fell down the stairs before using her Quirk on herself to stop from tumbling.

" **FEAR NOT!** " All Might's booming voice echoed throughout the dome. " ** _I AM HERE!_** "

When he stepped into the light, his presence was both amazingly comforting to the students and horribly unsettling. Nobody had ever seen him without a smile on his face, even in the worst of disasters. But now, an angry scowl made his face horrifyingly intimidating. Still, the students let out tears of joy. They would be safe with him there. Also, he was wearing a button down shirt and tie. Nice.

" **I got a bad feeling, so I cut my conversation with the principal short. And then, I met Young Iida on the way here. He explained what basically happened.** " ' _And it made me so damn pissed! You must have all been so scared, and my colleagues did their best... But that's exactly why I must stand tall now!_ ' " **Fear not. I AM HERE!** " All Might ripped off his tie.

"You took your time, _Symbol of Peace_!" Tomura laughed, standing up and seeming to forget about the students. "How worthless you are, you trash!"

"I-I've never seen him in person!" one of the villains yelped, taking a step back.

"Shut the fuck up, wimp!" another one shouted, cracking his knuckles. "We got a job to do! Let's kill this fu–"

All Might moved faster than anyone could see more clearly than as a blur. A dozen villains that were between him and Aizawa were instantly knocked unconscious as All Might reached his fellow hero, kneeling down and picking him up.

" **Aizawa... I'm sorry...** " he said quietly, looking at his colleague's injuries. He hoisted him over his shoulder before turning an intense glare towards Tomura, Nomu, and the three students that were with them. Just as quickly as he moved before, he grabbed all three of them along with Tsuyu and Hitoshi and returned them to safety, knocking the hand off of Tomura's face in the process. " **All of you, get to the entrance! Take Aizawa, he's passed out!** "

"S-So fast," Hitoshi said, stunned, as he picked up his teacher.

' _No, All Might is low on steam,_ ' Izuku realized. ' _He's pushing too far, isn't he?_ '

"Huhhhnn," Tomura grumbled angrily, slowly shuffling towards the hand on the ground. "No good, no good. I'm so sorry... Father..." He reached down and placed the hand back onto his face with some care. Suddenly, he laughed, "Throwing punches to save people? Ahahaha! There's some government-sanctioned violence for you!" He stopped laughing and leveled his head at All Might. "You're too fast for me to keep up with, but you were once faster... Is it true that you're weaker than you used to be?"

"All Might," Izuku said nervously, "that big villain is strong... Almost as strong as you! And Shigaraki, the handsy guy, called him the 'Anti-Symbol of Peace', so be careful!"

" **Young Midoriya,** " All Might said, looking at Izuku. His face set back into its regular wide smile and he gave him a thumbs up. " **Don't fear!** " And then, he shot towards Nomu, holding up his arms in an X. " **Carolina... SMASH!** "

"Nomu," Shigaraki said calmly, taking a step back.

All Might's hands met Nomu's chest, but the villain barely moved. He stared down the #1 hero before trying to grab him, although All Might quickly dodged.

" **Really? No effect?!** " All Might exclaimed, hitting Nomu in the stomach with another seemingly useless punch.

"No effect, because he has the Quirk _Shock Absorption_ ," Tomura explained. "If you really want to damage him, then you'd be better off ripping him apart piece by piece... Not that he'd let you."

" **Thanks for the info,** **I appreciate it!** " All Might yelled to the villain as he moved around Nomu and grabbed him from behind. " **No sweat!** " All Might suplexed Nomu so hard that the cloud of dust the blow generated flew hundreds of meters up.

"All Might is really in another league, huh," Mina observed.

"But he's still a newbie when it comes to teaching, kero," Tsuyu said. "He uses cheat cards."

' _Maybe they do have a way to kill him, but we're helpless!_ ' Izuku thought, frustrated. ' _What's worse is that we'd only get in his way if one of us got taken hostage! We really can only trust in All Might... But... I'm the only one that knows..!_ ' he realized. ' _I'm the only one that knows about his injury! He must've already reached his time limit for today, and... Only I know his secret!_ '

"Deku!" Ochako shrieked as she reached them. "Your arm! It's all broken!"

"A-Ah, I'm fine, Uraraka," he brushed it off, only glancing at the worried girl for a moment before looking back at the dust plume, which was just starting to clear.

"So, you hoped to stop his movements by embedding him in concrete?" Tomura said amusedly. "It wouldn't have worked either way. He's as strong as you are, All Might."

Izuku's eyes widened when he saw that Nomu had been driven through a portal, and came back up to grip All Might's torso. His fingers dug in and drew blood from his side where the injury was.

"Perfect timing by the way, Kurogiri," Tomura continued.

" **Impressive for first offenders, but prepare yourselves!** " All Might proclaimed, hiding his pain well.

Nomu lifted All Might so that the hero had to let go of him, and held him over the portal he was bending through.

"I normally don't like blood and guts in my portals, but I'll gladly accept those of the #1 hero!" Kurogiri mocked as Nomu began pulling All Might through the portal. "You see, it's the job of Nomu's speed and strength to catch you, while it's my job to close the portal while you're halfway through and cut you in half!"

"S-Stay back," Izuku said to his friends, taking a tentative step forward. ' _No, All Might... There are still so many things... So many reasons you need to stay!_ ' "ALL MIIIGHT!" Izuku yelled, running toward his hero.

"Deku, no!" Ochako screamed, though Mina held her back from running after him.

"Foolish..." Kurogiri sighed, warping in front of Izuku.

' _No, Midoriya!_ ' All Might thought, looking at Izuku. ' _Don't!_ '

Suddenly, Katsuki came out of seemingly nowhere and let off an explosion in Kurogiri's side. Then, he pinned him down by the metal neck brace.

"What the fuck are you doing, Deku?!" he shouted. "The fuck happened to your arm?!"

A blast of ice covered Nomu's body before All Might was able to be bought into the portal.

"I heard you people are here to kill All Might," Shoto said, walking forward.

Eijiro jumped in and tried to hit Tomura, but the villain sidestepped nonchalantly.

"Damn, I almost had him!" the hardening teen cursed.

"This misty fuck isn't all that great," Katsuki sneered.

"You fools aren't good enough to _ever_ kill All Might," Shoto announced with finality.

"Kacchan! Guys!" Izuku exclaimed, never more happy to see his childhood friend.

"Deku, I'm serious!" Katsuki yelled again. "Get the fuck out of here with that fucked arm!"

' _Young Todoroki had enough control to just barely not freeze me!_ ' All Might realized. ' _So Nomu's grip is loosened!_ '

All Might jumped out of Nomu's grasp and landed back with the students. He tenderly touched at his sides, which were bleeding from where Nomu's fingers penetrated.

Tomura turned to Katsuki, who was holding down Kurogiri's body. "You've pinned down our way out... This is a problem."

"It's just like I thought," Katsuki said to Kurogiri confidently. "When we attacked you, you said 'that was close'. You wouldn't have said that if you didn't have a physical body underneath."

"Nng–" Kurogiri struggled to get out of Katsuki's grasp.

"Don't you fucking dare!" Katsuki snapped threateningly. "If I think you're up to _anything_ fishy, I'll blow the shit outta you!"

"That isn't very heroic," Eijiro chuckled nervously.

"Not only did you beat our stage, but you did it with almost full health," Tomura said oddly calmly, clasping his hands. "Kids today sure are something... Nomu, kill that explosive brat. We need our escape route back."

Suddenly Nomu, even though his frozen leg and arm shattered as he did so, stood out of the portal. He began hobbling towards the heroes on one leg.

"N-No way!" Izuku exclaimed. "He's still moving even though his body is crumbling apart!"

" **All of you, stay back!** " All Might held his arm out at the students. " **I thought his Quirk is shock absorption!** "

"I don't remember saying that that was his _only_ Quirk," Tomura pondered as Nomu's limbs began reforming. "This is Hyper Regeneration. He's a superhuman sandbag designed to take you at your best."

Nomu jumped towards Katsuki and released a punch that kicked up a cloud of dust and sent out a shockwave in all directions, knocking back the other students.

"Kacchan!?" Izuku shouted, looking up at his friend who was actually fine, though he was blown away from the warp villain who got away. "Did you do dodge that? No way!"

"Of course I didn't fucking dodge it," Katsuki snapped back. ' _I didn't even see it coming!_ '

All Might, who had taken the hit for Katsuki, coughed up blood. " **He doesn't know how to hold back, does he?** " he panted.

"Anything to save a comrade, huh?" Tomura scoffed. "Like earlier, when that plain kid tried to paralyze me or whatever. Violence for the sake of saving others is admirable, isn't it?

"You know what, All Might? It _pisses_ me off! Heroes and villains both thrive on violence, yet we're categorized into good and evil. 'Symbol of Peace'? Hah!! In the end, you're just another tool of violent oppression against those of us who society disagrees with. Your violence will only ever breed more violence! I'll show that to the world by _killing you_!"

" **What a load of crap!** " All Might shouted. " **Villains with real idealism have a fire in their eyes... You're just doing this for fun, you liar!** "

"Heh, you got me," Tomura sighed. "You saw right through me, huh?"

"It's 3-on-5," Shoto said.

"And Kacchan showed us the mist's weak point!" Izuku exclaimed.

"These guys are tough, but with all of us, we'll win!" Eijiro said, hitting his fist into his palm.

" **No! Get out of here!** " All Might told the students.

"Things wouldn't have worked out so well if we hadn't stepped in," Shoto argued.

"All Might, you're bleeding!" Izuku said, before noticing the steam rising from the hero's body. "And your time!"

" **Todoroki, you are right,** " All Might said, purposely ignoring Izuku's point. " **But fear not! Sit back and watch a pro get serious!** "

"Nomu, Kurogiri, take him," Tomura instructed. "I'll handle the kids."

' _It's true that I only have barely a minute,_ ' All Might thought with a grimace. ' _I'm wearing down faster than I expected, but... I have no choice here! **Because I am the Symbol of Peace!**_ '

Tomura lunged towards the students, while Nomu fired straight for All Might, who met him halfway. The force of their collision actually forced Tomura to leap back.

"A head on assault?" Tomura said in disbelief. "He's got Shock Absorption, idiot!"

" **That's right!** " All Might shouted as he traded countless blows with the creature at 100% power. " **It's Shock _Absorption_ , not Shock Nullification! That means he has a limit! You say he's built to withstand my 100%? Then I'll go beyond that!**"

' _He's pushing so hard,_ ' Izuku thought worriedly. ' _And he's spitting up so much blood!_ '

" **A hero is always willing to smash through limits to save the day!** " All Might wound back his arm. " **Tell me villain, do you know the meaning of... _PLUS ULTRA!?!?!?_** "

All Might hit Nomu with a huge uppercut that sent him flying out of USJ's dome with a sonic boom.

"H-Holy shit!" Eijiro exclaimed, looking up at the hole in the dome. "He smashed through the absorption like straight out of a manga! What a bruiser!"

"And the regeneration couldn't keep up with those fast attacks..!" Katsuki said, stunned.

" **AHAHAHA!** " All Might bellowed, clenching his fist. " **Ooh, yeah, I _am_ weaker! In my prime, it would've only taken 5 of those hits... That was more like 200! Ahaha!**" ' _Damn, my time's up..._ ' " **Well villain, how about we finish this quickly, eh?** "

"No... You cheated..." Tomura accused, scratching his neck. "You've weakened? No, we were completely outmatched! How dare you do that to Nomu? Damn it, I was lied to!"

" **... Well, are you going to come get me?** " All Might asked, glaring at the villains. " **What happened to clearing the game? Well if you think you can take me, then bring it on!** "

"We aren't ready for this level yet," Shoto decided and their group began to step back.

"Hey Midoriya, c'mon," Eijiro said, turning to the only one of them not walking away. "Let's hang back for now. They'll take you hostage or something if we try anything, so let's go."

' _No, he's bluffing to buy time!_ ' Izuku mentally screamed. ' _He's all out of steam! He can't even move, can he?_ '

"Deku, let's go," Ochako said, walking up behind him. "A-And how's your arm feeling?"

"Eh? Oh, it's fine," Izuku said, turning to the Zero Gravity user. "I thought you went back."

"No way! I can't run away when you guys are being all brave!"

Tomura scratched at his neck furiously. "If only we still had Nomu... He was taking those hits so well!"

"Calm down, Tomura Shigaraki," Kurogiri said quietly. "Nomu definitely dealt some damage. The kids are holding back for some reason, and reinforcements will be here soon. If we double-team him right now, we have a chance!"

"Ah, yes, yes," Tomura sighed, removing his hands from his neck. "Right, right, right, we can do this... The final boss is right there!"

"Uraraka," Izuku said, seeing the villains start to move, "give me your hand."

"E-Eh?" Ochako's face flushed a deep red. "W-Why?"

"Just do it!" he said sternly.

"R-Right..!" Ochako held out her hand, too confused and embarrassed to realize what Izuku was doing.

"This is revenge for Nomu!" the villains shouted as they approached All Might.

Izuku grabbed Ochako's hand in an odd way, so that he touched all of her finger pads before she even realized it.

"Deku, what're you–?!"

"Thanks, Uraraka!" Izuku shouted before shooting his weightless body forward with his telekinesis. ' _I'm sorry, but... I'm the only one that knows the trouble he's in!_ '

Izuku plunged his left fist into Kurogiri's metal brace before the villain could react, cracking it and making the him stagger.

"He's... Fast?" Tomura gawked, before plunging his arm into Kurogiri. "This is my only chance, then..!"

The hand came out at Izuku, but he moved his body back to stand with All Might. Tomura stared the two heroes down for a moment, before taking a step forward. Suddenly, a bullet shot through his arm.

" **T-They're here!** " All Might exclaimed gladly.

At the top of the stairs stood a dozen pro heroes, along with Tenya Iida who yelled out, "I'm sorry it took so long everyone, but we brought everyone we could!"

"Ah, game over," Tomura sighed. "Let's try again another time, Kurogiri–" The pro hero Snipe shot several more times into the villain, who crawled through Kurogiri's portal and looked back at All Might. "I may have failed here, Symbol of Peace, but you're _dead_ the next time we meet!"

And with that, the portal closed.

"What in tarnation?" Snipe asked in confusion.

"I can't believe they just fled after such a flashy invasion," Midnight sighed.

"They took us completely off guard," Nezu said brightly as he was set down by Vlad King, the class 1-B teacher. "But right now, let's concern ourselves with the safety of the students."

"Young Midoriya," All Might said, making Izuku turn to see his mentor's state. He has only halfway transformed now, blood leaking from his mouth through ragged breathing. A cloud of steam was rising off of him. "You... If you hadn't gotten in the way, then... I'd be dead. You saved me again, Young Midoriya!"

"All Might..." Izuku smiled up at his hero. "I'm glad you're okay." Izuku winced as the adrenaline began to wear off and he felt the pain of his one broken arm and the bloody knuckles on his other hand from Kurogiri's metal brace.

"Deku!!!" Ochako yelled as she ran over.

"Midoriya, you okay?!" Eijiro shouted from behind her.

"Oh no, they'll find out!" All Might realized as they grew near.

Suddenly, the floor jutted up in a concrete wall courtesy of Cementoss, who told the two concerned students, "We need to make sure you guys are all okay, so go back to the entrance. I'll deal with the wounded here."

"Makes sense!" Eijiro said, starting to run for the front of USJ.

"B-But Deku..." Ochako protested weakly.

"I'm fine!" Izuku called, running around the wall of cement. "I just need some attention for my arm, so I'll go to the entrance too."

Cementoss nodded his head after a moment and the two students walked off.

"When will you stop giving me heart attacks?!" Ochako scolded. "And look at your hand! It's all bloody! And your arm is broken too! And I can't believe you just used my Quirk like that to put yourself in danger!"

"Ahaha, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Izuku laughed, scratching the back of his neck with his bloodied hand.

Once they got outside, Izuku was sent to Recovery Girl to get his arm and hand healed. The police, led by Detective Tsukauchi, took a head count of the students.

"Alright..." the detective sighed, going over the list on his clipboard one more time. "Looks like the kid with the broken arm was the only injured student."

"Hey Ojiro," Toru said, putting a hand on the tailed teen's shoulder. "You were in the collapsed zone with Midoriya and Ashido? Wow, that must've been tough!"

"Midoriya came up with a good plan to get through it," Mashirao said. "Where were you, Hagakure?"

"In the conflagration zone with Todoroki! He's crazy strong!"

Shoto realized that he could easily have accidentally frozen her along with the other villains, and was immensely glad that he hadn't.

"Does anybody have a guess as to where I was?" Yuga asked, although the rest of the students ignored him.

"... So, how sure are we that Uraraka and Midoriya aren't dating?" Eijiro asked.

"I don't know about Round Face, but Deku doesn't have the balls to ask anyone out," Katsuki chuckled. "It probably ain't happening."

Ochako didn't hear this exchange.

Yuga instead turned to Tsuyu, "Where do you think I was?"

"Where, kero?" she asked.

He declared, "It's a secret!"

Detective Tsukaichi announced, "Let's get you all back to your classroom. This is no time to collect statements from you."

"Detective?" Tsuyu asked. "What about Aizawa Sensei?"

"Both of his arms were smashed to splinters," he said. "His face was fractured, too. It doesn't seem he'll have permanent damage there, but his eye sockets were pulverized. He may have long-term vision issues."

Hitoshi seemed particularly upset, while Tsuyu offered a sad "kero."

"Thirteen has lacerations on his back and arms, but it isn't life-threatening. All Might's injuries aren't too bad, and he was sent to the nurse's office."

"What about Deku?" Ochako asked. "He's fine, right?"

"Dek–..? Oh, the other student. He's fine. He went back to the nurse's office with All Might. Actually, I have some business there, myself. Sansa, take over for me."

An officer with a cat head saluted him.

_

In the nurse's office, Recovery Girl looked at the two she had resting in bed. "I can't scold you two, considering what happened," she sighed.

"Damn..." All Might grunted. "I pushed it too much and probably shortened my time limit again... I'll be lucky if I have 1 or 2 hours a day."

"All Might..." Izuku frowned.

"Eheh, what are ya gonna do?" All Might shrugged, sitting up. "Bad stuff happens."

The door opened, and Detective Tsukauchi entered, saying, "Pardon me. Ah, it's been a while, All Might!"

"Tsukauchi?! I didn't know you were here!" All Might exclaimed.

"Aah! All Might, is this alright? You're–" Izuku freaked out for a moment because All Might wasn't in his muscle form.

"It's fine, Young Midoriya," All Might assured. "He's a good friend who's with the police, Naomasa Tsukauchi!"

"Thanks for the introduction," the detective chuckled. "Not to rush you or anything, but I have some questions about the villains–"

"Wait!" All Might cut him off. "What about the students? And Aizawa and Thirteen?"

"Well, besides this guy here, there were no student injuries," Naomasa said. "And the teachers are out of danger now. If you three hadn't put your lives on the line, then the students wouldn't have made it out unscathed."

"I see... But you got one thing wrong, Tsukauchi. It was the students who fought with their lives, not just the teachers. They faced such a battle so young... They know the dangers of the world, now. I've never seen such a class as first years, have you? Those villains picked the wrong fight. These kids will be mighty heroes, and I'll make sure of it."

"Touching," Recovery Girl grinned, making her way over to Izuku and handing him a piece of paper. "You're free to go, kid. Don't come back here too often."

"Yeah, I'm sorry," he nodded his head, getting up and making his way to the door. "Thanks Recovery Girl. And thanks, All Might."

Toshinori flashed Izuku a thumbs up as he walked out.

"Ah, Deku!" Ochako said as he walked out into the hallway. She held his backpack out to him. "I came to bring you this and check up on you."

"Ah thanks," he said, taking the weightless yellow backpack. "Are we being let out early?"

"Well, duh!" Ochako sighed, releasing her Quirk as Izuku put the bag on his back. "We have tomorrow off, too."

"Really? That's good, I guess." Izuku and Ochako started walking.

"H-Hey, Deku," she said, glancing at the ground. "You work out on days off, right?"

"Yeah," he nodded his head. "Whenever I don't have anything planned, I fill the gaps with training."

"W-Well, I was wondering if, y'know, I might be able to join you?"

Izuku looked at her with a smile. "Definitely! I'd be glad for some company, really. I'd work out with Kacchan, but..."

"Yeah, no need to explain that one," Ochako grinned.

"I start my morning run at about 6 usually, if you want to join in for that," Izuku said. "Otherwise, I'm ready anytime tomorrow."

"Where at?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't really have a gym membership," Izuku realized. "I just work out at my apartment. I have dumbbells, a bench with a bar, and a machine for back exercises."

"Really? That's pretty sweet!" Ochako said. "You can text me your address later!"

"Alright," Izuku said, smiling. But in the back of his mind, he was worried about how his mother would react to the fact that a girl would be going over to his place.

They walked down the steps of U.A., and were surprised to see Katsuki waiting for them.

"About fucking time, Deku," he snarled.

"What are you doing here, Kacchan?" Izuku asked.

"What the fuck were you doing, jumping out there with that damn broken arm?!" the blonde shouted. "If you fucking die, then I won't have anyone else to crush! Except the icy bastard, but that's beside the point!"

"Ah, I'm sorry," Izuku laughed. "I'll try to keep myself healthy enough to challenge you."

Katsuki joined their walk, on the opposite side of Izuku as Ochako. She studied Katsuki's scowling face from across Izuku, wondering exactly why he was there. Izuku may have forgiven the blonde for reasons she couldn't understand, but she wasn't very keen on spending time with him.

"Anyway, that was pretty crazy, huh?" Izuku said, looking at Katsuki. "We've been at U.A. for one week, and we've already fought real villains!"

"Real stupid villains," Katsuki scoffed. "Not only did they think they could take All Might, but they thought they could handle _me_!"

"All Might had to save you from the bird," Ochako pointed out.

"Shut the fuck up Round Face!" Katsuki shouted. "At least I didn't have to see the nurse afterwards!"

"You got me," Izuku chuckled.

"How the fuck did that happen, anyway?" Katsuki raised an eyebrow.

"The... Bird guy," Izuku admitted, chuckling nervously.

"Eh? You really let that guy get you? Fucking loser!" Katsuki chuckled.

"I'm sure I would've been fine if All Might saved me too," Izuku retorted.

"Shut the fuck up. I wasn't the one stupid enough to jump out and get in All Might's way in the end there."

"Yeah, why did you do that?" Ochako asked. "All Might had it handled, right?"

"I-I just moved without thinking," Izuku explained, scratching his neck and chuckling nervously.

"You have a bad habit of that," Katsuki grunted, crossing his arms. "You should get that fixed before you jump to your fucking death."

"Bakugo," Ochako gasped. "Do you actually care about Deku's well-being?"

"Huh? Fuck no!" Katsuki exclaimed. "I just won't let this idiot die until the next time we get to fight!"

"Well _I'm_ glad you're okay at least, Deku," Ochako giggled. Once they reached the station, she gave Izuku a "See ya tomorrow!" as they parted, leaving Katsuki confused.

"You're hanging out with her tomorrow?" the blonde asked once they got on their train, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah," Izuku said. "She's going to work out with me."

"You two gonna be working up a sweat?" he grinned.

"Definitely!" Izuku said, before realizing what Katsuki was insinuating. "Wait! No, it's not like that!"

"No shit," Katsuki sneered. "No way you'd get a girlfriend before me."

"W-Why is everything a competition?" Izuku sweatdropped. "Nevermind. You'll be exercising tomorrow too?"

"Of fucking course I am. It's your fault you're gonna be distracted by Round Face all day instead of keeping up with me, but I won't complain if I get a head start."

Izuku laughed at his friend's attitude. ' _Some things never change, but..._ ' "Kacchan... I'm glad you're taking me seriously now."

Katsuki just scoffed and looked away.

' _... Some things never change._ '

_

"All Might," Naomasa sighed, leaning against the wall of the nurse's office. "You can't keep taking risks like that. Especially since you haven't passed it on yet."

"I know, I know," the skeletal man admitted. "But I had to do _something_ , right?"

"Toshinori," Recovery Girl said, "when will you give it to the boy, exactly?"

"I haven't decided," he replied, clenching his fist. "But it isn't the time to give it to him yet."

Naomasa's face noticeably darkened. "You really can't wait. Considering what your old sidekick said all those years ago..."

"Don't worry," All Might chuckled. "I'm still kicking. And it'll stay that way until he's ready to receive my offer."

_

 **Notes: So, remember how I said that I prewrote the first 8 chapters? I kinda didn't write any others since then (except the bonus chapter). I've been focusing on doing rewrites based on feedback, and I haven't been able to predict where it'd exactly go. But now that I'm here, I'm thinking of switching to an update schedule of 'every other week'. It'd give me time to write and proofread and keep the chapters up to the length I like, while also properly adjusting to feedback on a chapter-by-chapter basis. Let me know what you think about that.**

 **And seeing as I haven't prewritten past this point, I'd like to ask for suggestions and ideas on the next few chapters and the sports festival! I kinda already know how the obstacle race will pan out (honestly, it's pretty boring because it's obvious and I think Izuku would be _stupid_ to do anything else), but everything else is fair game! Pair-ups for the cavalry battle and the final tournament are not set in stone at all, so suggest away! As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	10. Back to UA! A Surprise Return?

**Special kind-of-early update! Viridescent has returned after a long hiatus, so I thought I'd release this chapter now in celebration. If you don't know what Viridescent is (you should), it's the most popular bnha fic on this website. And if you're following this and not that story (because I know some of you are for some reason), there's something wrong with you. Darkfire more than deserves that #1 spot for sure, and you should check it out of you haven't.**

 **Alright, the reason that I said this update is kind-of-early is that I** **have decided on an update schedule: whenever the fuck I want between 1-2 weeks (hopefully) after the previous chapter.**

 **With that being said, welcome to the chapter!** **Also, we've reached more new follower milestones! Over 700 follows and 550 favorites! I appreciate every one of you!**

 **gamerman246: I knew the strategy for the obstacle race was obvious lol, but yeah, that's how it'll go down.**

 **bens6757: Well, the problem with that is the fact that Ochako can't keep herself weightless for very long, and definitely not for the whole cavalry battle. There's the fact that Izuku could be made weightless alone and fly away (it wouldn't count as a disqualification as long as he returns to his team, like Katsuki did), but I'm not sure how that'll work out either... _A_ _hem_ , nevermind.**

 **magister of light: I know, I know. But hey, you never know what (or who) might interrupt their cavalry battle strategy. I'm not saying they won't get first, but I'm desperately trying not to make it too easy.**

 **JSua: Izuku tends to be analytical about these things, so he'll probably stick with people whose Quirks he knows well.**

 **MrClikk: The Katsuki and Ochako talk will happen eventually, don't worry. I definitely won't make a fight between Izuku and Ochako. She's good, don't get me wrong, but I'm not sure there's any way for her to beat him as things stand right now. And I'm also probably keeping the Izuku/Shoto fight, since that's central to Icy Hot's character development and I have no idea how else to do it.**

 **Team Green Tea: I kinda already addressed the reason that wouldn't necessarily work, but there might be something like it.**

 **moonstar31548: Still not confirming if/when he gets OFA.**

 **PleaseCallMeOut: Nope, this is an IzuOcha fic exclusively! No harem here! And I won't use the 'disrespectful to women' argument against harem stories. In fact, I do think that a limited harem with as few people as possible could be pulled off in a respectful manner. But sorry, not this story.**

 **demarmotoojeda: Yes, this Izuku is physically weaker than his canon counterpart. And it will probably be that way permanently to be honest.**

 **Reverseflash: No mind-reading powers, sorry. Izuku's abilities will only cover telekinesis, not other psychic abilities.**

 **And as always, thanks to the plethora of encouraging comments and advice! Glad you guys seem to be enjoying, and I hope you'll continue to do so!**

 _I_ _do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _Back to U.A.! A Surprise Return?_

Ochako stood outside of Izuku's apartment at 5:45 AM. She paced back and forth, worrying about the details, of course.

' _What if I won't be able to keep up in the run? What if he holds himself back for my sake? He seems like he'd do that... Did I dress fine?_ '

She looked down at her outfit once again. She was wearing a sports bra under her plain white t-shirt, had dark gym shorts on, and wore her running shoes.

' _Yeah, that's probably fine. Should I not have brought a water bottle? Well, I can just leave it here if I won't need it... Should I knock on the door? But what if his mom's asleep? Should I just wait out here? Wait, I should just text him! Duh, Ochako!_ '

She shook her head and sent him a message to let him know she was ready. She ran over the details one more time in her head, then kicked herself mentally for it.

' _No, don't get so worked up over this! You need to focus on being a hero! Focus, Ochako!_ _I'm here because I need to become a successful hero, for Mom and Dad. Because I want to catch up to Deku. Because Deku is an amazing hero... Gods, why can't I focus? I didn't even think about relationships or anything before, but after what Kaminari and Ashido said... No! My parents deserve a comfortable future, and I need to give them that before I can think about anything else! Besides, everyone knows high school relationships never work out. This is just a little crush, and it'll pass on its own–'_

"Ah, good morning Uraraka!" Izuku said as he stepped out of his apartment and closed the door behind him.

"MORNING!" she shouted in reflex, before covering her mouth with her hands. She whispered, "A-Ah, sorry Deku. G-Good morning."

She looked at his outfit as he chuckled nervously at her reaction. A plain white t-shirt, green gym shorts, and running shoes. He was holding a water bottle in one hand and a towel over his shoulder.

' _Alright, looks like I got the dress code down_ ,' she thought in relief. "So, uh, what'll our running route be?"

"Well, I normally go on a 5 kilometer run, but I was thinking of doing about half of that today," he said.

"Ah, no!" she waved her hands at him. "You don't need to hold your training back for my sake!"

"Oh, it isn't that," Izuku assured. "I'm just a little tired after what happened yesterday."

"Oh, yeah," she sighed. "I guess I am too."

"But pro heroes need to face villains like that every day..." Izuku muttered, before his thoughtful expression turned to one of determination. "If we aren't up to snuff, then that's all the more reason to push ourselves! Nevermind, I'm doing the full 5 kilometers!"

"Gueh?!" Ochako sweatdropped, widening her eyes. "S-So motivated..."

"You keep up for as long as you can, Uraraka. Then I can just meet you back here, okay? My mom will let you in."

"Yeah, that sounds fine," she nodded. Pumping her fist, she added, "But I'll try to keep with you the whole time!"

They walked down to the front of the apartment complex and began their warm up stretches. Ochako did her best to follow everything that Izuku did, though she wasn't 100% sure that she succeeded. They started the run at 2 minutes to 6, and went at a pace barely faster than a light jog. The slow pace confused Ochako at first, until she remembered that they'd be running 5 kilometers. It wasn't too long before she was breathing hard, and Izuku had pulled a little ahead of her. She decided to ignore how long she thought it was taking and focus on the actual running part of it. Regulating her breathing, keeping a reasonable pace, and taking long and efficient strides made the top of her list.

After a while, Ochako's thoughts wandered again, _'Geez, I wish that I brought headphones to listen to music while we run. It's not like we would be able to waste breath on chatting even_ _if_ _I_ could _keep up with him. I even lightened my clothes, but he's just more fit than I am. What kind of training did he do with All Might? I know he cleared that beach, but... Whatever he did, the results sure are impressive. I guess I need to catch up... I mean generally speaking, not catch up in this run right now. Geez, I can't keep thinking about other things while I run! Focus on running!_ '

Which she did for a little bit, before... ' _I_ _wonder what Deku thinks about while he runs. He probably doesn't need to think about putting one foot in front of the other. And he's not the kind of guy to think about_ nothing _, so... I doubt he's thinking about what happened yesterday. I personally want to forget it even happened. Maybe he's thinking about the Quirks of our classmates? I know he said he was working on notes for everyone. Or maybe pro heroes or villains? Maybe he's just thinking of what to do after the run. Wow, my side aches. Maybe I should take a tiny break? No, I'll fall behind like that!_ '

Ochako kept her eyes trained on Izuku's back. Every now and then, he'd turn around and make sure she was still with him, which she was grateful for. She took a sip from her water bottle, doing her best not to spill any as she ran. Her curiosity got the better of her eventually, and she checked the time on her phone. 6:11 AM. They had been running for 13 minutes at that point, and Ochako didn't know how much more she could take. The 'light jog' pace seemed a lot harder to keep than she'd expected. Much to her delight however, Izuku suddenly stopped up ahead. Once she caught up to him, she leaned down with her hands on her knees, taking deep breaths.

"This is the halfway point," Izuku panted. "Drink up, this is a five minute break."

Ochako gulped down about half of her bottle before gasping, "This is only halfway?!"

Izuku scratched his cheek and chuckled, "Well, you can go back if you want to. My mom should be fully awake and ready by the time you get back."

"You're hardly winded!" Ochako sighed heavily. "Man, I'm way behind, huh?"

"Well, it took me a long time to get used to this too," he sighed, drying his face with the towel. "You should've seen me back in middle school. I was a twig," he chuckled.

"Really?" she also chuckled, now regaining some breath. "Did you do this kind of stuff with All Might?"

"Um..." Izuku scratched his head. "Yeah, but mostly Quirk and strength training. Hey Uraraka, have you... told anyone that I trained with All Might?"

"Eh? No, why?"

"Well, I kinda just told you by accident. I don't know if I'm actually supposed to tell anyone."

"Oh? Why not?"

"I mean, it'd kinda change how people think of me if they hear that I was personally trained by the number 1 hero, you know? And I don't want to cause All Might any trouble either."

"I guess that makes sense," she sighed. "Why do you train your body so hard if you have such a great Quirk though?"

"All Might told me to," Izuku shrugged. "He said that I need more than just a Quirk and determination to be a hero, and that I need physical ability."

"I don't think that's necessarily true," Ochako mused. "I guess it depends on what type of hero you want to be, but there are plenty of heroes that rely completely on their Quirks."

"Still, it might just come in handy at some point. And it doesn't hurt to put in some extra work in the long run."

"You can say that, but my side is aching," Ochako groaned. "I think I'll meet you back at your apartment, Deku. Sorry, but I can't run any more."

"That's fine," he smiled at her. "Just knock on my door and my mom will let you in. Alright, I think I've had enough of a break."

Izuku grabbed his things and bent his legs, ready to run, while Ochako put his address into her phone's map. To her surprise, they were only a few blocks away despite the distance they had run.

Izuku waved before starting off on his run, and Ochako called out, "See ya there, Deku!" before starting the walk to his apartment.

' _Just how can he do that?_ ' she thought as she took another sip of her water. ' _I have a long way to go after all._ _I already knew he was amazing, but_ that _is too much for me._ '

Ochako browsed through social media on her phone as she walked, taking occasional sips of water. Over the few minutes it took, she became more and more aware that she was about to meet Mrs. Midoriya for the first time. She was nervous, and it wasn't just because she was about to meet Izuku's mom. She was nervous because, even though he described his mother as incredibly supportive, he had also made her out to be overprotective. Her own parents weren't that way at all. They practically _pushed_ her out of the house to go to U.A. even though she wanted to help them with the family business. So, she wasn't really experienced with such intense parents and wasn't sure what to expect. But, as she walked up the stairs and up to his apartment's door, she knew she had to get it over with. She steeled her nerves and knocked.

The door opened, and a youthful woman who looked much like Izuku greeted her, "Why, hello!" Ochako was somewhat shocked at how alike they looked, aside from the straight hair sported by the woman who she assumed was Izuku's mother. After looking at Ochako's outfit, the woman asked, "Are you Ochako Uraraka?"

"Yes, I am," Ochako said with a smile and nod of the head.

"Ah, Izuku said you'd be here today!" the woman said brightly, clasping her hands together. She looked around and asked, "Where is he?"

"Oh, I couldn't keep up with the run, but he's still goin'," Ochako chuckled, scratching her cheek. "He said you'd be awake and could let me in."

"Ah, yes, of course!" she exclaimed, stepping to the side of the doorway. "Come in! Would you like anything to drink, or something like that?"

"Ah, no thanks," the Zero Gravity user said with a smile as she stepped in and removed her shoes. "I drank a lot of water, so I'm not thirsty."

"Well, we have plenty of that if you run out! Oh, please take a seat!" Mrs. Midoriya gestured to a door on the left side of the hallway.

As she followed the woman inside, Ochako couldn't help but notice the first door on the right, which had an All Might-themed sign labeled 'Izuku' hanging from it. She chuckled a little bit at it, then followed Mrs. Midoriya into the living room/dining room/kitchen and sat across from her at the table.

"Well, now that we're here," the woman said, holding her hand out to Ochako from across the table, "I'm Inko Midoriya, Izuku's mother."

Shaking Inko's hand, Ochako smiled and said, "Ochako Uraraka. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Midoriya."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you too Uraraka! And call me Inko," she smiled warmly. "Izuku's talked a lot about you!"

"H-He has?" Ochako blushed a little and put a hand on her cheek.

"You and your other classmates of course," Inko clarified with a smile. "It sounds like he made plenty of good friends at U.A, so I'm really happy about that. Though, I'm upset about what happened yesterday. U.A. is definitely a good opportunity for him, but I'm not sure I could let him go if I know he'd be in danger like that."

"Oh, of course we're in no danger!" Ochako said quickly. "The teachers have everything handled real well!"

"They'd better," Inko sighed. "Still, it must've been scary."

"Yeah, kinda," Ochako chuckled. She thought about what Inko said about Izuku making good friends, and remembered that Izuku had been reluctant to talk about any other friends before U.A. If she was going to be concerned, she might as well dig into the issue. "Hey, Mrs. Mid– Uh, Inko... Did Deku not have many friends before U.A.?"

"Deku?" Inko asked. "Isn't that Katsuki's nickname for Izuku?"

"O-Oh, yeah," Ochako scratched her cheek. "I liked it, and I kinda just picked it up, ehe."

Inko stared at Ochako with a blank face for a few moments before smiling again, "Sorry dear, what was your question again?"

"Umm... Before coming to U.A., did Deku not have many friends?"

"Well, he was never very social," Inko sighed. "The only one he spent any time with was that Katsuki."

"His only friend was _Bakugo_?" Ochako scrunched her face uncomfortably.

"I'm not stupid," Inko sighed. "I know they aren't really friends. Izuku used to come home with bruises and burns. I put a stop to that pretty quickly, but I know they still didn't get along."

Ochako gasped at this new information. She knew that Katsuki had bullied Izuku and was just generally rude, but she hadn't thought that he might have physically abused him. It made her even more upset with the blonde, and even more confused as to how Izuku could forgive him.

Inko saw the worry on her face and assured her, "But you know, he's been so much happier since meeting you and his other classmates. I didn't think I'd ever see him happier than when his Quirk first manifested, but he just might be."

Ochako nodded with a small smile. "So, what _was_ Deku like as a little kid?"

"I could just tell you, but..." Inko considered for a moment before grinning. "I _do_ have some pictures of him."

"Yes!" Ochako said a little too quickly, and Inko chuckled.

_

Once he finished his run, Izuku took a second to sit on the curb and catch his breath outside of his apartment complex. He emptied his water bottle and wiped the sweat from his face with his towel, then made his way up to his apartment. He hoped that Ochako and his mother were getting along. He wasn't really _too_ worried about that, since he knew Ochako well enough, but he _was_ worried about what his mom might do. He had no idea, since he hadn't ever had a friend over to his house. All he could hope was that she didn't embarrass him in some way.

"Oh my God!" he heard Ochako's voice exclaim from the living room as he walked in. "That All Might onesie is so cute!"

Izuku's face blanched and he bolted for the door. When he opened it, he saw Inko and Ochako sitting at the kitchen table with one of his mother's old photo albums.

"W-W-What are you doing?!" he squeaked, his cheeks reddening.

"Oh hey Izuku!" Inko smiled. "I'm just showing Uraraka here some of our old pictures!"

"DEKU OH MY GOD!" Ochako laughed, holding up a photo of him in an All Might onesie. "THIS IS SO CUTE!"

"Don't say that!" The rest of Izuku's face flushed as he grabbed the picture book. "A-And stop looking at this, it's embarrassing!"

"Aw, c'mon Deku," Ochako chuckled. "Don't be such a party pooper!"

"Alright you two," Inko said, standing up from the table. "I'm going to get your breakfast ready."

"Thanks Mom," Izuku mumbled.

"Thank you Inko!" Ochako said brightly. She turned back to Izuku and said, "Your mom's real nice!"

"Glad you two got along," he sighed. "I was kind of worried about something like this from the start though."

"C'mon! It doesn't make me think you're any less cool, if that's what you're worried about."

"I'm not," he sighed. "It's just embarrassing."

"Well then, since I somehow keep learning secret things about you..." Ochako racked her head for a second. "What other secrets can I know? A juicy inside scoop on the number one hero? Something horribly illegal that you did once? Anything?"

"Well I'm not telling you _anything_ now," Izuku grinned slightly.

"Fine, jeez," she pouted. "Then... Can I see what your room is like?"

"My... room?" Izuku questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well, I saw the sign with your name, and I'm kinda curious about how nerdy it is inside!" she chuckled, grinning and scratching her cheek.

"W-Why does it have to be nerdy?!" he asked defensively.

"Then prove me wrong," Ochako said nonchalantly, standing up and walking towards the hallway. "Unless it's totally an All Might shrine or something, ehe!"

Izuku ran in front of her and blocked the door. "W-What if it is?"

"Calm down," Ochako giggled. "I won't judge or anything. I just wanna see."

"P-Please don't..."

Ochako just laughed and pushed the door open behind Izuku. She took two steps in before involuntarily bursting out in laughter at the amount of 'All Might' around the room.

"Uraraka!" Izuku yelled, covering his beet red face.

"I'm s-sorry D-Deku!" Ochako choked out as she tried to stop herself from laughing. "I-It's even g-geekier than I i-imagined it!" Izuku crossed his arms and looked away as she regained her composure. Once she did, she smiled at him and said, "But you know, I think that it shows your dedication to following your dream and becoming a hero! My room would probably look like a Thirteen shrine if my family could afford it, so I really don't think any less of you for it. Actually, I kinda... think it's cool!"

"Really?" Izuku asked, looking back at Ochako whose blush had widened for some reason.

"Yeah," she nodded, smiling wider.

"Hey kids!" Inko called from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready!"

"Coming Mom!" Izuku called. He turned to Ochako, "C'mon, let's go."

"Right!" Ochako grinned.

After eating, Izuku and Ochako worked out a little bit in Izuku's home gym, though she wasn't able to keep up with him. She ended up leaving because she wanted to take a shower, though Izuku kept going after she did. Eventually, he took a shower and spent the rest of the day studying and then lazing.

"That Uraraka girl was nice," Inko said as they watched TV that evening.

Izuku looked up from his phone. "Yeah, she is. Hey Mom, why did you have to embarrass me with the photo?"

"Oh come on," Inko laughed lightly. "That's my job as a mother! Besides, she liked it."

"Still, it was embarrassing," he said, looking back down at his phone.

After a few seconds, Inko spoke up again, "Izuku sweetie, you never told me that she calls you by a nickname."

"Oh? I didn't think it was relevant," he shrugged.

"I see," she nodded. "Well, I like her! She's welcome here any time!"

"Oh, that's good," Izuku said, looking up from his phone again. "She said she wants to work out again tomorrow, and maybe Sunday."

"Oh, that's fine," Inko smiled.

_

The next two days went similarly overall, with Ochako being unable to keep up with Izuku in both the run and weight lifting. They also did some makeshift Quirk training on Sunday. She never brought up Izuku's lack of friends or Katsuki's abuse, deciding that she already knew more than she rightfully should and he was probably happy to avoid the topic. They did talk about the USJ attack though, especially as it became a headline over the weekend.

When Monday rolled around, the class was somewhat talkative. Everyone was still a bit animated because of the events of the previous Thursday, and were talking with their neighboring students.

"Hey, did you see the news over the weekend?" Toru asked Mashirao from across Mezo.

"Yeah," the tailed teen nodded his head.

"All of us were on screen for a second! I didn't stand out at all though..."

"That's true," Mezo said, and Mashirao couldn't tell if he was simply agreeing or being sarcastic.

"Well, it's kind of hard to stand out if you're invisible, isn't it?" he chuckled.

"The media made a huge deal out of it," Denki said, smiling a little too widely.

"I was pretty surprised by it," Eijiro shrugged.

"U.A. is famous for pumping out high-level pro heroes," Kyoka sighed as she fiddled with her earphone jack. "Of course it'd get a lot of publicity if it got attacked."

"True, I guess," Eijiro said with a nod.

"But who knows what would've happened if the teachers showed up a little later?" Sero sighed.

"Those punks weren't so tough," Katsuki scoffed. "Right, Kirishima?"

"Yeah, right!" Eijiro smiled at the blonde. "Bakugo and I took out the landslide zone without trouble!"

"Yeah, well the collapsed zone wasn't too tough once we followed Midori's plan!" Mina said.

"But All Might was _awesome_!" Sato said excitedly. "He pushed those villains back like fodder!"

"Yes, it's obvious how marvelous his strength is," Fumikage said matter-of-factly, nodding his head.

"Everyone?" Momo called out, standing up at her desk. "I'd appreciate it if you'd quiet down. It's my duty as class president to keep things in order in the absence of the teacher, after all."

"Speaking of," Mina whispered back to Tsuyu. "Who do you think might teach homeroom, Tsuyu?"

"Well, Aizawa Sensei is recovering from his wounds in the hospital, kero," the frog-like girl said with her finger held up to her chin. "So they'll probably give us some pro hero or U.A. staff member as a substitute..."

"Morning," Aizawa's bored voice droned from the doorway.

The whole class simultaneously looked up at their teacher, who had both arms wrapped in casts and his face wrapped in bandages.

"Aizawa Sensei! You're back already?!" multiple students exclaimed.

Tenya raised his hand and shouted, "I'm glad to see you are doing well, Sensei!"

"I don't know if that qualifies as 'well'," Ochako said worriedly from behind the Engine user.

"My personal welfare is hardly relevant," Aizawa sighed. "Because, your battle is far from over."

"Our battle?" Katsuki asked.

"What does that mean?" Izuku muttered. ' _I can't imagine it's more villains, right?_ '

"U.A.'s Sports Festival is going to be here before you know it!" the pro hero said.

"That's such a normal school thing!" multiple people exclaimed with a mix of relief and exasperation.

"Is that smart right after the villain attack?" Kyoka asked.

"Couldn't they attack again?" Mashirao asked as well.

"The upper management of U.A. thinks that this can be a way to show our confidence in our crisis prevention and security," Aizawa said, muffled by the face bandages. "We'll have five times the security that we've had in the past. Besides, the sports festival here at U.A. is too big of a chance for you. We won't just cancel because of some pesky villains. It's one of Japan's biggest events. In the past, The Olympics were a huge event that the whole world went crazy over. But, after major population reductions when Quirks first appeared, they're just a shell of their former glory. Japan now turns to this event, _your_ sports festival, in place of that old event."

"And of course, pro hero agencies will be scouting all of us!" Momo commented excitedly.

"That's how pros will hear about us, and we'll become sidekicks when we graduate!" Denki said, holding a thumbs-up to Kyoka next to him.

"Some people don't have what it takes to move up, and they get stuck as eternal sidekicks," she sighed. "That's stupid people like you, Jamming-Whey."

Denki lowered his head in defeat.

"Of course, joining a popular hero's agency will net you a lot of experience and publicity," Aizawa said. "Time is limited. If you want to be a pro hero, then this'll be your chance to open your future. One chance a year, so you'll have three chances to show the pros what you're made of before graduation. None of you can afford to slack here, got it?"

"Yes sir!" the class confirmed.

_

The day's classes passed, and lunchtime rolled around. As the students were finishing packing up in the classroom, they talked about the sports festival.

"Man! Even though all that villain stuff went down, I'm getting pumped!" Eijiro exclaimed.

"No kidding!" Sero agreed, bumping Eijiro's shoulder. "If we catch the attention of the pros, we'll have taken our first step towards becoming pros ourselves!"

"It was definitely worth coming to U.A.," Sato said, hitting his fist into his palm.

"We rarely get chances like this, so we can't afford to miss it," Fumikage said, closing his eyes and nodding his head.

"Hey Ojiro!" Toru said excitedly. "I'm really nervous! I need to stand out at the sports festival!"

" _You_ need to try _extra_ hard to get their attention," Mashirao said as Toru cheered for herself.

"Oh, just what'll I do?" Yuga asked Koji dramatically. "I stand out enough just by attending! Sorry, but I'm afraid the scouts won't be able to look away from me!"

Koji stepped back, trembling in fear of the loud and outrageous Yuga Aoyama.

"Right?" Yuga asked excitedly, leaning into Koji's face. The silent boy replied with a rapid nod.

"Shoji, you're lucky," Denki sighed. "Your strength stands out on its own."

"Doesn't matter if I can't show its usefulness," Mezo replied.

"Well, _Jamming-Whey_ will definitely stand out," Kyoka chuckled as Denki stuttered for a retort.

"Wow, everyone's getting so into it!" Izuku marveled, looking at his classmates.

"Of course! Aren't you as well?" Tenya asked the vice president. "We enrolled here to be heroes, so of course we'd get fired up at this chance!" Despite his words, Tenya was incredibly stiff.

"Iida, you have a unique way of getting 'fired up'," Tsuyu croaked. "It's weird."

"Don't you feel the same, Midoriya?" Tenya asked, ignoring Tsuyu's comment.

"Of course!" Izuku grinned. "I can't wait to get myself out there!"

"But you know," Hitoshi sighed, "it's a big incentive for the general studies kids as well. Based on performance in the sports festival, people can be moved in or out of the hero course. My plan was actually to get in through the festival, but I was transferred in by surprise."

"Deku, Iida!" Ochako said darkly from beside them. "Let's do our best at the sports festival!"

"Uraraka, your face looks so determined it's scary!" Izuku chuckled while Tenya looked at the Gravity girl with confusion.

"Uraraka, you look really... well, not Uraraka!" Mina said. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing!" she yelled, before pumping her first in the air. "Everyone, I'm going to do my best!"

Izuku, Tenya, Tsuyu and Mina pumped their fists and agreed, "Yeah!" while Hitoshi abstained from the event.

Ochako swiveled to face Sato, Sero, Eijiro and Fumikage. "I'M GONNA DO MY BEST!"

"Y-Yeah," they said, putting their fists up as well.

"I don't get you," Eijiro sighed. "Your personality is all over the place."

Izuku understood though. He knew how much being a pro hero meant to her, and what it meant for her family. Of course she'd give it her all in the sports festival. Her face did seem a bit too aggressive for some reason though.

_

"Uraraka, what happened to your face back there?" Tenya asked as they walked down the hall.

"Eh? What do ya mean?" she tilted her head at the Engine Quirked teen.

"I think it was just her determination showing," Izuku said. "It... was a little scary though."

"Eh? It was?" Ochako looked confused for a second before chuckling, "Sorry! Guess I'm just pumped up! I mean, this is our chance to make our dreams come true! How can't I get a little competitive?"

" **THERE YOU ARE YOUNG MIDORIYA!** " All Might boomed as he suddenly appeared at an intersecting hallway, causing all three students to flinch in shock.

"A-All Might! What is it?" Izuku asked, trying to calm his heart rate.

" **Would you, um...** " All Might held up a lunch bag. " **care to join me for lunch?** "

"OH MY GODS!" Ochako burst out laughing. "He asked like a maiden!"

"Umm," Izuku looked at Tenya and then Ochako, who both nodded to him. "Yeah, definitely!"

As he followed the symbol of peace to the teacher's lounge to eat, Ochako and Tenya proceeded to the cafeteria.

"I wonder what All Might wanted with Deku..." Ochako mused.

"I heard that Midoriya jumped out to help All Might during the USJ attack, right?" Tenya said. "That could be it."

"Y-Yeah, he did that," Ochako chuckled. "But it might be about–" She cut herself off as she remembered that Izuku wanted her to keep quiet about his training with the number one pro.

"What is it?" Tenya asked.

"S-Sorry, I'm not actually allowed to talk about that, ehe..."

"What, is there some secret between the two of them?" Tenya asked.

"I-I-I mean," she muttered, looking away. "F-Forget I said anything..."

Shoto Todoroki looked back at the two of them as they talked. ' _I thought it was strange when he jumped out, but... A secret between Izuku Midoriya and All Might, huh?_ ' the scarred boy thought. ' _Interesting..._ '

_

"A-An hour?" Izuku asked, looking up at All Might.

"Yeah," the skeletal man confirmed with a sigh. "That Nomu was tough, and I overstretched my limit again. I can push it to about an hour and forty-five minutes, but then I'd shorten my time limit again."

"I-I..." Izuku let the information sink in for a second. "I'm sorry, I–"

"BUWAHAHAHA!" Toshinori laughed, spewing blood as he did so. "Don't apologize when there's no need! Jeez, we really are similar, huh? Here, drink up." He passed Izuku some tea.

"Oh, thank you," Izuku said as he took a sip.

"To be frank, I don't have too much longer as the symbol of peace," the skeletal hero sighed.

"N-No way..." Izuku looked down into his cup.

"Young Midoriya, do you know why I trained you?"

"Because you saw potential in me?" the green teen guessed.

"Yes, but more specifically..." Toshinori turned and faced his protege. "As the symbol of peace, I do more than just fight crime. I'm called a 'symbol' for a reason! Even if another hero takes up the mantle of number one, there aren't many people with the spirit necessary to bring peace like I have. Izuku Midoriya, I believe that you have the spirit to succeed me one day as the symbol of peace!"

"W-What?!" Izuku's eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped.

"When we trained, you said that you want to save people and show them your fearless smile. You still want that, don't you?"

"Y-Yes!" Izuku nodded his head.

"Then now is the time to show that." All Might stood as tall as he could. "The U.A. sports festival is watched by not only pro heroes, but the whole country! It's a big event! This will be your debut as a hero in training! The next symbol of peace! Not All Might, but Izuku Midoriya! I want you to tell everyone watching that you are here!"

"I-I am here?" Izuku stuttered, attempting to process everything that was happening. "How?"

"You know how the sports festival system works, right?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then you understand that it's the best place to sell yourself to the masses and pro heroes!" All Might said.

"Of course!" Izuku nodded excitedly. "And I'll do my best to stand out so that your faith in me doesn't go to waste!"

All Might let out another hearty laugh. "That's what I like about you kid! You know, there's a difference between those who are trying to do good and those who are aiming for the top. That slight difference in attitude will have major effects on how far you go in society. That's what Plus Ultra means! Never be satisfied! Push to the limit, then keep pushing! Y'know?"

"Yeah," Izuku smiled and nodded. "Plus Ultra!"

_

"W-Woah," Ochako said in surprise. "T-There are so many people!"

It was the end of the day, and as Class 1-A was was preparing to leave, they were met with a dense crowd of students outside of the classroom.

"Tch, must be here to scope out the competition," Katsuki scoffed. "We were involved with that villain attack, so of course these extras would like a sneak peak at the main event."

"Kacchan, don't say that," Izuku sighed.

"Whatever," he said as he approached the wall of people. "Get the fuck outta the way, cannon fodder!"

"Bakugo!" Tenya yelled at the blonde. "Please refrain from being so insulting to those we don't even know!"

"Don't know?" a voice called out from the crowd, as multiple people seemed to be pushed out of someone else's way. "That might be true for some of the people here, but I'm not one of them!"

Multiple people gasped as a short boy with people spheres on his head pushed through to the front of the crowd.

"I-It's him!" Ochako shouted, pointing at the boy who was transferred out of their class on the first day. She turned and whispered to Izuku and Tenya, " _What was his name?_ "

"It's Mineta, right?" Izuku asked.

"Minoru Mineta!" he confirmed with a grin, pointing his thumb up at himself. "I thought a lot about my loss in that Quirk test... I guess it taught me that I have a long way to go. But... They're moving people in and out of the hero course based on this festival."

"If you weren't good enough a couple of weeks ago, what the fuck makes you think you're good enough now?" Katsuki grumbled.

"I wasn't taking this seriously enough before," Minoru said somewhat confidently. "I'm sure you guys have gotten a little better, and you even have some hands-on experience, but I've been working hard myself. General studies is easy so I have a lot of free time, and I've been using it to practice. I'm getting back into this class, even if I have to boot one of you out!"

Izuku was actually pretty glad to see Minoru's resolve. He worried when the people-headed boy was transferred that he might've been devastated, but he actually used the failure as fuel to improve himself. Still, Izuku had gotten attached to his current class and didn't necessarily want to lose anyone.

"HEY, 1-A!" a boy with silver hair and thick eyelashes that looked more like growths around his eyes yelled as he climbed on top of the crowd. "I'm from 1-B next door! We heard you rumbled with some villains, so I came to see what the hype was about. But all I'm seeing is this arrogant bastard!" He pointed at Katsuki. "You all better represent the hero course well!"

While most of the 1-A students were shocked by the sentiments of the people in the crowd, Katsuki just walked through, shoving people out of the way.

"C'mon Bakugo! You're just making enemies for us!" Eijiro shouted.

"Fuck if I care," the blonde shrugged. "I'm aiming for the top! What they think doesn't fucking matter to me!"

"D-Damnit, that's so straightforward and manly!" Eijiro said quietly, clenching his fist and holding back tears.

"Well... He's right about reaching for the top," Fumikage conceded.

"Don't let him pull you in!" Denki sighed exasperatedly. "He's just making more of them hate us!"

Everyone in class 1-A and even those outside of it were determined to win. They all prepped for the festival in their own ways, outside of school or during their hero training, and Ochako joined Izuku to exercise a few more times. School itself settled into a standard 'boring' aside from the festival preparations, and the two remaining weeks before the event flew by before anyone even realized.

_

 **Notes: The purple pervert of Popping-Off is back, baby! What? That's not something to celebrate? Well, let's get some things straight here. Most manga/anime have that one comic relief pervert. Most of those characters are allowed to stick around because of some redeeming qualities they might have. That's not the case with Mineta, since Horoshiki made his sole purpose comic relief. He's irredeemable. I fancy myself as less of a story writer and more of a character writer. I like to look at characters' motivations and personalities and decide what I think they'd do in a certain situation. That's incredibly difficult to do with someone like Mineta, so let me humanize him a bit, okay? Motivations and everything.**

 **Now that that's out of the way, suggestion time! I've already seen some team and match-up suggestions, but let me know if you think of anything that you think would work out! I have some of my own ideas, but I'd like to involve some more of you guys too. As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	11. The Sports Festival Begins

**Hey guys, welcome back! Thanks for over 800 follows and 600 favorites! I really can't express my appreciation, and I'm constantly pleasantly surprised with the reception to this fic.**

 **Random-Cliche-Name** **: He has his own purpose, but not on Izuku's team.**

 **Hybrid** **of Fate: That's tough since different Quirks would be more effective than others depending on the situation. I'd say that Izuku would be in the top five in terms of overall versatility, but is is at a disadvantage against Katsuki's or even something like Denki's Quirk, since they aren't physical. Not that he can't combat them, but he can't effectively counter them.**

 **kendilish** **: That's actually a really interesting team up idea. Maybe not the most effective for Fumikage, but it's easy enough for Momo to do and it gives Yuga many more options. Also, I'm appreciative that you read my story before it's done.**

 **bigrig56** **: Well, Koji is low-key badass. He got 11th place in the Quirk apprehension exam (12th in this fic technically), and I assume he didn't summon multiple fast and strong animals that were able to help him with the different events. Maybe he got a bird to take his softball far away, but his placement indicates that he's actually pretty fit. He even beat Rikido, who should've reasonably beat anyone there in raw physical ability as long as he kept ingesting sugar.**

 **HemaG** **: Well, Gran Torino was interested because All Might sent him a letter saying that he had found his successor. He could still send him something along those lines since he does plan on giving Izuku OFA, so I wouldn't count it out. I was actually considering sending Izuku to Gunhead's agency with Ochako. Not only would it be prime for fluff, but having experience with hand-to-hand combat would work pretty well with his telekinesis. But then that leaves another issue... which I'll address in a future chapter.**

 **JSua** **: I'm making at least the events the same as the canon.**

 **PleaseCallMeOut** **: I agree. Wholesome doesn't necessarily equal family friendly. Also, it makes me nervous that you've been looking forward to this Arc. Hopefully I'll not disappoint.**

 **Malone23** **: Well, the only time the Nomu was in range of Izuku's Quirk was when he grabbed his wrist, and Izuku tried to use it and failed. It would be out of character for him to kill it in such a vicious way as ripping out its brain. And it's difficult for Izuku to use his Quirk on a piece of a whole. He couldn't rip a piece out of the ground, but he could manipulate it after it is removed. If that makes sense.**

 **Sabrina Egan: Mineta placed last in the Quirk apprehension exam, which he would've in the canon if Izuku wasn't so out-of-practice with One For All. I didn't change anything there. I don't know who you'd be referring to by "half ire". I would assume it's Todoroki because of the "half", but he's one of the strongest in the class so I really have no idea. And Class 1-B isn't below 1-A, and I don't know where you would've made that assumption. There were multiple students to make it into the top 10 of the hero course entrance exam that were put into 1-B, and they are the same course.** **So moving someone from 1-B to fill in Mineta's spot makes even less sense.**

 **And as always, thanks to all of the supportive reviews I've been seeing! I'm glad you've been enjoying and I hope you continue to!**

 _I_ _do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _The Sports Festival Begins_

"Everyone, finish whatever preparations you must!" Momo called out to the 1-A prep room. "We'll be going out soon!"

"You're in a good mood Yaomomo," Mina pointed out. "You excited too?"

"Of course I am," the Creation user said. "This'll be our next big step in becoming heroes, after all."

"I wish we could've used our hero costumes," Mezo sighed, uncomfortably shifting his large shoulders under his PE uniform's torn sleeves.

"It's not allowed, for fairness," Mashirao sighed, before looking down at his tail, which had also torn through his uniform. "I get what you mean though."

Izuku was pacing, clenching and unclenching his fists nervously. He was as nervous as anyone else there, maybe even more so. He rested his hand on his chest and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. He looked around at his classmates. Everyone was socializing, trying to calm down, and giving each other pep talks. Even Katsuki was talking with Rikido and Denki which was odd for him to see.

"Midoriya."

Izuku looked over and saw Shoto approaching him with one hand in his pocket. "Todoroki? What is it?" He felt multiple sets of eyes land on him and the recommendation student.

"You're pretty strong," Shoto said, shifting on his feet. "Capable, I mean."

"Uh... Thanks?"

"But objectively speaking, I'm better," he said, looking up into Izuku's eyes. "All Might has his eye on you, doesn't he?" Izuku's eyes widened, and he tried for some excuse but none came. Shoto looked into his eyes for a moment before continuing, "I'm not going to pry about that, but... just know that I'm going to beat you."

"A-Are... you sure about that?" Izuku grinned, finally finding his voice.

"What's that?" Denki turned to the two students who were staring each other down. "A declaration of war from the strongest guy in class?"

Eijiro grabbed Shoto's shoulder. "What the hell is up man?! Don't pick a fight just when we're about to go out there!"

"Shitty Hair," Katsuki growled as he walked up to the group. "There isn't a damn thing wrong with picking a fight. The only thing out of place here is the fact that he's challenging the wrong fucking guy. Deku, Icy Hot... I'll beat both of you and win this whole damn thing!"

"You can try, Kacchan," Izuku grinned.

"C'mon, seriously guys!" Eijiro exclaimed in exasperation.

"Whatever," Shoto sighed, turning and walking away.

"Deku, you'd better make it to the finals so I can crush you 1 on 1," Katsuki grumbled before scoffing and walking away. When he got back to his group, the ashy blonde hit Denki upside the head.

"Ouch! What was that for, Bakugo?!" he shouted, grabbing his head.

"For saying Icy Hot was the strongest guy in class, you fucking moron!"

"YYYEEEEEAAAAHHH!!" Present Mic's voice echoed down 1-A's entrance tunnel, prompting the students to assemble. "LET'S GET THIS YEAR'S SPORTS FESTIVAL UNDERWAY! The one time of the year when _you_ get to see U.A.'s talented students brawl it out for glory! For the first years, we are definitely starting with the most anticipated class! They already faced villains this year and came out on top! You know who I mean everyone! LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR 1-A OF THE HERO COURSE!"

Class 1-A walked out of the tunnel and into the stadium. The blinding sun beat down on them, and it took their eyes a few seconds to adjust. The seats above them were packed, and most of the students began to realize that their popularity would be much more intimidating in reality than from behind a screen.

"Woah, what a crowd," Izuku marveled.

"Of course, we're expected to perform our best in front of all these spectators," Tenya said, nodding his head. "Yet another way U.A. is training us to be top notch heroes!"

"Man, I think they're giving us too much credit," Eijiro said excitedly. "But we won't let it get to us, right Bakugo?"

"It just pumps me up," Katsuki grinned darkly.

"And then class 1-B, also from the hero course!" Present Mic yelled over the stadium.

"Damnit, why are we playing second fiddle?!" the silver-haired teen complained loudly. "We passed the same damn entrance exam!"

"Tetsutetsu, save it for the competition," a boy with short blond hair said calmly from beside him. "We can show them then, eh?"

"Right, Monoma!" Tetsutetsu grinned, slamming his first into his palm. "Can't wait to show em what we're made of!"

"Next are classes 1-C, 1-D, and 1-E of general studies!" Present Mic announced. "Then 1-F, 1-G, and 1-H of the business course!"

The students finally finished lining up, and assembled in front of a small stage, upon which stood the referee for the first years' sports festival.

She cracked the whip loudly, before yelling, "It's time for the athlete's oath!"

"T-That's the R-rated heroine, Midnight," Izuku sighed uncomfortably.

"Is she even allowed to be on a high school campus?" Fumikage asked.

Multiple people were talking along the same lines, and Midnight cracked her whip to shut them up. "Pipe down kids! The student representative for the first years is Izuku Midoriya!"

"It's Deku?!" Katsuki and Ochako exclaimed in unison, and Izuku smiled sheepishly at them before beginning to walk up to the stage.

"Must be because he placed first in the entrance exam," Hanta mused, prompting Katsuki to mumble something about Rescue Points being bullshit.

"The _hero course_ exam, that is," a girl from general studies corrected him.

"She's right," Hitoshi sighed.

Izuku had prepared for this. He'd done his research and prepared his oath, basing it roughly on the old Olympic athlete's oath. He still felt nervous, but he decided to just close his eyes and pretend he was alone in his bedroom as he recited it. He stepped up to the microphone, took a deep breath, then began, "I swear, in the name of all of these students, to put forward my best effort to compete fairly in this festival. May the best student win!" He bowed stiffly, was met with applause, then made his way back to his class.

"O-Oh my God," he said shakily, breathing heavily and clutching at his rapidly beating heart. "T-That was nerve-racking!"

"You did great Deku!" Ochako gushed. "All sportsmanlike and stuff!"

"You shoulda just said you were determined to win," Katsuki scoffed. "That's what I'd have done."

"I'm glad you didn't say that," Eijiro laughed. "That would've just made everyone hate us more!"

"Without delay, let's find out what the first event is!" Midnight pointed up at a screen.

"Why is everything 'without delay' here?" Ochako sighed.

The screen started scrolling through different events, like a randomization wheel.

"These will be the qualifiers! This is where the majority of you will be sent home crying! And the first event... iiiiiissss...!"

"This isn't without delay," Kyoka said. "She's totally stalling!"

"THIS!" Midnight announced as the words 'OBSTACLE RACE' appeared on the screen.

' _An obstacle race..?_ ' Izuku thought, beginning to ponder strategy.

The portion of the stadium's wall that the students were closest to began opening up, forming an archway to the outside.

"It's a race between every first-year student of U.A.!" Midnight shouted over the group of students. "It's a four-kilometer course around the stadium! As you students may know, this school preaches freedom... in _all_ things! _Ehehe..._ Ahem, that means that, as long as you follow the course we laid out, any move is fair game! Everyone, get into position!"

"A-Already?!" Ochako exclaimed. "I-It's really without delay!"

Izuku looked over at her as he heard her voice, and his brain made the realization. "Uraraka, come here!" he called to her.

She made her way over through the crowd of people that was still shifting as they fought to get the head start. "What's up Deku?" she asked.

"As soon as Midnight says 'go', make both of us weightless."

"ON YOUR MARKS!" Midnight called.

"Why?" Ochako tilted her head.

"She said that anything is fair game," he said.

"GET SEEEETTTT!"

"That means that teamwork is allowed," he continued. "And nobody can beat our teamwork in a race."

Ochako's eyes widened in realization.

"GOOOOO!"

Ochako pressed her hand onto Izuku's shoulder, then made herself weightless as well. As they floated above the frantic mass of students, Ochako hesitantly grabbed Izuku by his arm. She wasn't familiar with the feeling of moving so fast, and wasn't sure what to expect.

"Ready?" Izuku asked.

"Yeah," she nodded, smiling at him. "Let's win, Deku!"

Izuku grabbed the two of them with his Quirk, enveloping them in a shared bright green glow, before firing forwards. They flew over the heads of the rest of the participants who were getting stuck in the starting gate, and they flew over Shoto, and the rest of the students who were out of the gate with him. When Izuku saw the giant faux villains from the entrance exam, he brought them up and over the mechanical monstrosities.

"WHAT'S THIS?!" Present Mic exclaimed. "I haven't even started commentating, but these two are already past the first– no, _second_ obstacle!"

Ochako peaked from her eyelids for a moment and looked down over a seemingly bottomless cavern as they went over. She quickly closed her eyes again after that, starting to feel nauseous just from the sight. Or maybe that was just from using her Quirk on herself... Either way, she gripped Izuku's arm a little more tightly.

Izuku was a little uncomfortable with Ochako holding his arm, especially since he knew they were on national television. He understood why she was, though he couldn't shake the thought that it really wasn't necessary. He looked down as they passed over a large flat area of dirt, before looking up and realizing that they were already approaching the end of the race.

"I don't believe it!" Present Mic shouted. "These two finished the race so quickly that we didn't even have time to pull up their files! But we don't need to if we want to know who got first–THE FIRST YEARS' REPRESENTATIVE IZUKU MIDORIYA!"

"The other one is Ochako Uraraka, and both are in my class," Aizawa muttered from next to him the commentary booth.

"Thanks, Mummy Man!" Present Mic exclaimed.

"Uraraka," Izuku said as he set them down on the grass. "You can release your Quirk now."

"E-Eh?" She opened an eye, then quickly let go of his arm. Pressing her finger pads together, she whispered "Release!" before letting out a huge exhale.

"We won Uraraka!" Izuku said, looking up at the thundering crowd.

"Yeah..." Ochako sighed.

"Uraraka, are you okay?" he asked, noticing her labored breathing.

After taking a deep breath, Ochako straightened her posture and smiled, "Yeah, all good! Just some nausea from using my Quirk on myself."

"Does using your Quirk on yourself really affect you that much?" he asked with wide eyes. "Sorry, I could've gone a little faster."

"No no, it's fine," she said quickly. "Really, it wasn't too bad!

Present Mic was swapping between screaming about Izuku and Ochako, and Shoto, who was apparently doing something amazing against the large robots. "But we have the footage from the high speed camera! Let's see that finish one more time!"

Izuku and Ochako looked up at the screen where the footage of them crossing the finish line was being played in super slow motion. Ochako thought Izuku looked really cool. His eyes were set forward and a determined look was on his face. Then there she was, holding onto his arm for dear life and squeezing her eyes shut.

"Geez, I wish they wouldn't play it over and over," Izuku chuckled uncomfortably.

"Y-Yeah..." Ochako nodded.

Pretty soon, Present Mic reluctantly moved on from their record time and returned to the race that was still underway. Izuku and Ochako sat in the shade against the stadium's wall and watched as Shoto crossed over the large ravine they had seen. Katsuki followed right behind him, letting loose countless explosions as he propelled himself forward, and then the rest of the students began crossing. The camera followed the two front-runners as they reached the minefield. Katsuki caught up to Shoto and tried to hit him with an explosion, then the two began scuffling.

"Kacchan is just slowing both of them down," Izuku muttered. "This way, someone else could possibly overtake them both... _Not that anyone else seems close enough to take advantage of it. But still, in any other situation it would be inefficient. Heroes should always keep their priorities straight, so doing something like this instead of pursuing the objective probably lowers his chances of getting a lot of offers for internships despite his impressive Quirk..._ "

"D-Deku?" Ochako giggled, shocking him out of his muttering spree. "You're muttering again."

"S-Sorry," he said quickly, blushing a little bit and looking away in shame.

"I don't really mind," she said. "Just wanted to let ya know."

"IN THIRD PLACE," Present Mic shouted, getting Izuku's and Ochako's attention again, "KATSUKI BAKUGO! FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY SHOTO TODOROKI!!"

"Kacchan beat him, huh?" Izuku smiled. "Good for hi–"

"DEEEKKUUUU!" Katsuki yelled as he panted and made his way over to the pair. "You fucking cheater! Using Round Face's Quirk instead of just your own power!"

"Midnight said that anything was fair game," Izuku shrugged. "I don't see how teamwork would fall outside of that–hng!"

Katsuki grabbed Izuku by the collar of his shirt, and Ochako protested, "Bakugo, let him go!"

"Shut up!" he growled at her, before looking back to Izuku. "You didn't win this with your own power, so I won't acknowledge it Deku! You haven't gotten another win on me yet!" He let Izuku go, and as he walked away he added, " _I'll_ win the next damn round."

"Sure thing," Izuku chuckled nervously as he pulled at his shirt to get a wrinkle out of it.

"Deku, are you alright?" Ochako asked, stepping a little closer to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he smiled at her. "That's just Kacchan being Kacchan."

The other students began making their way into the stadium, almost all of them out of breath. Izuku and Ochako were both surprised to see Tenya come in as late as he did. He walked up to them then leaned down on his knees, panting.

"Iida, you alright?" Ochako asked.

"I... I can't believe I lost a race of all things... with _my_ Quirk..." he exhaled. "It's clear I have some progress to make."

"He's fine," Izuku chuckled.

"It looks like all of the students have finished!" Midnight announced after a few more minutes. "Let's check the results!"

The rankings popped up on the screen above them. Izuku and Ochako were first and second respectively, followed by Katsuki in third, Shoto in fourth, someone from 1-B named Ibara in fifth, then the rest following. Izuku was particularly surprised by the fact that Minoru made a better time than many hero course students. He finished in eighteenth place, just behind Mina.

"Only the top 42 will move on from this event!" she continued. "Don't worry if you didn't qualify, we have other ways for you to get some spotlight. Now, this is where the media folks start bouncing in their seats with excitement, so give it your all! It's time for the next event!"

The screen began scrolling through the names of different events once again, but it was taking longer this time to reveal what the second round would actually be.

"I already know what it is, of course," Midnight teased. "What, are you dying of suspense? Well, next up is... THIS!"

The words 'CAVALRY BATTLE' popped up on the screen. Students began whispering to each other, contemplating what exactly it would entail.

"You participants will form up in teams of your choosing with two to four people per team. The rules are simple: take other groups' headbands while protecting your own! But there's one special condition here: each of you have been assigned a point value based on your performance in the first event!"

"So we'll earn points like in the entrance exam?" Rikido asked. "Sounds simple enough."

"Ooh! And the point values will be determined by the members of each team!" Toru said excitedly.

An irritated Midnight cracked her whip and shouted, "Just shut up, I'm about to explain it! _Geez_. Anyway, yeah, your point values will be added up as a team. And the individual scores will go up from the bottom scorer. Forty-second place has five points, forty-first place gets ten points, and the pattern continues upward. But there's one _little_ exception... The first place student is worth TEN MILLION POINTS!!"

"Uh... t-t-ten... m-million?" Izuku stuttered, eyes widening as every other student turned their gazes on him.

Midnight let out a chuckle, "So the idea is that the students that performed well last round will be at a disadvantage... This game is a little chance for payback!" She let it sit in the air for a bit before continuing, "Anyways, this thing will be 15 minutes long! The 'rider' of your group will wear the headband, which displays your team's total point value. The objective is to take as many points from other teams as possible, and enemy headbands you get must be worn around your neck or higher. And don't worry if you lose your own, because that isn't a disqualification. Quirks are allowed, so it goes without saying that this'll get a bit vicious, but maliciously attacking another group with the intent of toppling them is a disqualification! It's also a disqualification if your rider hits the ground! Alright everyone... You have 15 minutes to organize into teams for headband distribution!"

The students began rapidly rushing around, talking to other students about team combinations, while Izuku was on the verge of a mini panic attack. ' _Who's going to want to be with me if I have so many points?! Getting the ten million point headband will be an instant win for any of the other teams, so we'll have a huge target on our backs! I'd love to be with Uraraka, but she'd be better off forming another team. Her headband has a high enough score to give her team an advantage while not being a huge target like mine, so that's probably a safer bet for her–_ '

"Deku, you're muttering," Ochako chuckled.

"Uwah! Sorry," he squeaked, before realizing that Ochako was still standing with him. "Uraraka, why are you standing here? Shouldn't you be finding a team?"

"O-Oh, sorry!" she exclaimed, waving her arms and backing up. "I-I just thought we'd be on a team, s-sorry for assuming things–"

"You'd want to be on my team even with my huge point value?!" Izuku exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, of course!" Ochako said, smiling widely. "We already have enough points to win, so we just need to run, right?"

"But everyone's gonna be after us," Izuku said.

"But our Quirks work so well together that that won't matter, y'know? Besides, even if it was more difficult," she said as a blindingly bright aura seemed to appear around her, "I'd rather team up with a friend, any time!"

Midoriya felt something in his chest tighten, his breath hitched, and his face contorted into a squeezed mess.

"W-What happened to your face?!" Ochako laughed. "You got so ugly all of a sudden!"

"You're just so bright that I can't look at you," Izuku sighed, shaking his head before looking back at her. "But I was actually hoping to team up with you anyways. Do you think you can use your Quirk on me for the full fifteen minutes?"

"Maybe under other circumstances," she sighed, scratching her head. "But since I used my Quirk on myself earlier, I'm already kinda tuckered out."

"Alright, then I can't just fly around the whole time, so we should run away until you're recovered... I know just the person to give us some more maneuverability!"

Ochako followed Izuku as the green haired boy looked around borderline frantically. But soon enough, the pair found Tenya Iida, and Izuku explained the plan to both of them.

"An impressive plan, as expected of you, Midoriya," Tenya nodded. "But I'm sorry, I can't accompany you. Ever since the entrance exam, you've repeatedly proven yourself to be better than me. I value you as a friend, but that is also the reason that I cannot follow you now. I see you as a rival as much as Bakugo and Todoroki do, so I'll also challenge you." He walked over to Shoto's team, which also consisted of Momo and Denki.

"Iida..." Ochako sighed quietly.

' _Right... This is no time for loyalty between friends,_ ' Izuku thought. _'T_ _his is the time to think about survivability. Or self-improvement I guess, in Iida's case. Everyone has to do what they need to in order to become great heroes._ '

"Deku, what're you mumbling about?" Ochako asked. "Coming up with a plan?"

"Not really yet," he sighed. "We need at least one other member... If we just have a little bit more mobility, it'll compensate for the amount of time you can use your Quirk."

"But who–?"

"Midoriya, Ochako," Tsuyu croaked as she approached them. "Mind if I join you? Kero."

"Tsuyu!" Ochako cried and hugged her friend.

"A-Asui, really?" Izuku smiled widely.

"Call me Tsuyu," she reminded him, seemingly ignoring Ochako's embrace. "You guys have a target on your backs, but with your Quirks that doesn't matter, kero. I think this is the best way into the next round for me."

"That's actually just what we needed," Izuku said. "Uraraka can't use her Quirk the whole time, so having some more mobility is good."

"Glad to help, kero," she said, her tongue lazily hanging out. "Do you think we need someone else?"

"Well..." Izuku tapped his chin. "I don't know if it's necessary, bu–"

"WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT THAT THE TOP TWO FINISHERS WOULD BE TOGETHER ON A TEAM?!" a loud voice suddenly screamed from behind the three students, startling both Izuku and Ochako. They turned and saw a pink haired girl with large round goggles just before she jumped forward and grabbed Izuku's shirt. "TEAM WITH ME MR. FIRST PLACE!"

"U-Um, you're a bit close," he chuckled nervously, leaning away from the girl. "Who are you?"

"Mei Hatsume, support course!" she answered as she took a step back. "Listen, I know we don't know each other very well, but teaming up can be mutually beneficial for us!"

"You're being really straightforward about this," Izuku observed.

"Being with you guys guarantees that I'll get some spotlight!" she said excitedly, pumping her arms and encroaching on both Izuku's and Ochako's personal spaces. "And being in the spotlight guarantees that industry higher-ups will be able to see my super cute babies in action! And then it's guaranteed that they'll take notice!"

"Wait, cute babies..? Industry..? What are you–?" Ochako started to ask before Mei turned on Izuku and forced him back, still rambling rapidly. "Ah, she's more interested in him."

"She seems to have a very one-track mind, kero," Tsuyu added with a nod.

"In the support course, we make a ton of equipment for heroes to use," Mei continued, before dumping out a bunch of support devices. Nobody knew where she dumped then out from. "I've got plenty of my babies here, so you'll definitely be able to make use of some of them!"

Izuku picked up what appeared to be a jetpack, before his eyes widened and began sparkling. "Could this be based off of the pack that Air Jet uses?!"

"Yup!" she grinned. "And I made a few of my own modifications too!"

"Wow, I love that hero!" he exclaimed. "His hero agency was even in my neighborhood. Before he moved, at least."

"They're getting along well," Tsuyu said offhandedly.

"Yeah," Ochako nodded. ' _They got_ _friendly pretty fast._ '

"Alright," Izuku said, standing up. "We should be able to effectively evade for the whole time. The more skilled teams will probably wait to catch us off guard, so we should save Uraraka's Quirk for the second half. Except Kacchan, but he's one out of so many teams here. We can use some of Hatsume's support equipment–

" _Babies_ ," she corrected him.

"Sorry. We can use her babies to help the three of us keep up with Asui's ag–"

"Call me Tsuyu, kero."

"S-Sorry," he sighed. "Anyway, Hatsume's babies and Tsuyu's natural agility will give us the ability to evade the other teams at first until Uraraka is confident in her ability to keep me afloat the rest of the time."

"Can she float you though?" Tsuyu asked. "Would that be a disqualification?"

"Midnight Sensei only said that it'd be a disqualification if the rider hits the ground," Izuku recalled. "So this strategy should work."

"Your fifteen minutes are up!" Midnight called from the stage, stretching her arms. "We'll send employees around to get your team scores."

"Well, your plan doesn't give my babies as much spotlight as I was expecting," Mei sighed. "But it's a good plan and I'll have more time to show off in the next round."

"Yeah, you're really good at making plans Deku," Ochako agreed, mainly smiling at Izuku but occasionally glancing at Mei.

_

"Hey Eraser, wake up," Present Mic said, nudging the bandaged hero beside him. "All 12 teams have assembled, and it's time to start! ARE YOU READY?!"

"Please, shut up Mic," Aizawa groaned. "But... Some of those teams are interesting."

Izuku stood on top of their horse. Tsuyu was hunched forward in the front, holding her hands back for Izuku to stand on. Ochako was on his left flank, holding his ankle and foot to steady and support him along with Tsuyu, and Mei was on his right flank doing the same. Izuku was wearing the jetpack, while Ochako and Mei each had a single thruster boot on their outside legs.

Izuku wrapped the headband around his head, labeled '10,000,560', and looked down at his teammates. "Are you guys ready?"

"You bet Deku!" Ochako cheered.

"My babies are _always ready_!" Mei said loudly.

"Kero," Tsuyu offered with a nod.

"Uraraka, try not to use your Quirk at all until I fly," he said, to which she nodded. He sighed, "Fifteen minutes... Let's do it!"

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE!" Present Mic announced. "Got your strategies down pat? Too bad if you don't, because it's time to get this thing underway! Here's the countdown to the Cavalry Battle Royale! Three... Two... One... START!!"

As soon as the starting bell sounded, multiple teams made a beeline for Izuku's team. Of the first two that he saw heading from the front, one was headed by a black-haired Class B student with a second headband below his score one, while the other didn't have a rider that Izuku could see. That must've been Toru.

"They're coming right away," Tsuyu croaked. "What should we do, Midoriya?"

"We gotta go!" Izuku replied. "Uraraka, Hatsume, get ready with the boots when Asui jumps!"

"Yeah!" Ochako nodded and smiled.

"Yes!" Mei exclaimed. "Let's show off my babies!"

"Call me– Wait, the floor!" Tsuyu exclaimed, trying to move her legs.

"Ah, we're sinking!" Ochako said.

"My babies won't work if they're imbedded in the ground!" Mei shrieked.

Izuku's eyes followed the seemingly fluid ground to the feet of the Class B rider's front member, who must also have been from class B.

"It's that guy's Quirk," Izuku said, reaching from the jetpack's trigger. "Hold onto me, so you don't get torn away!"

He felt all of them tighten their hands around his legs, and he also grabbed them with his telekinesis for extra support. He pressed the button and the jetpack ejected force straight down, pulling the students from the sludgy ground and launching them into the air.

"Woah, that had a lot of force!" Izuku exclaimed, before looking down and seeing Kyoka's earphone jacks speeding at them from Toru's team. "Asui! Can you handle Jiro's jacks with your tongue?"

"Kero!" she said before grabbing the earphone jacks with her tongue and throwing them down. "And call me Tsuyu."

"Thanks, Tsuyu!" he grinned. "I was just focusing on mobility, but having some defense is also important! Thanks a lot!"

"Kero."

"Hatsume, we're landing!" Ochako said. "Activate the boots!"

Izuku used his telekinesis to slow their descent, and the boots were able to stop them from landing roughly by letting out a jet of air.

"Aren't my babies just the cutest?!" Mei asked animatedly. "I made them to be cute!"

"Yeah, your babies are great Hatsume!" he said, smiling back at her. "They're really helping with our mobility!"

"I KNOW, RIGHT?!" she said, jumping up and down slightly.

" _They only worked that good with his telekinesis_ ," Ochako muttered, looking away. " _They're not all that great_..."

Suddenly, the ground next to Team Izuku cracked and opened as vines erupted, forming a wall. One of the vines shot towards Izuku's head, but he ducked and pushed it away with his Quirk.

"Everyone, get away!" Izuku shouted down to his team.

"Wait, my boot is stuck in something!" Ochako exclaimed.

Izuku looked down and saw that Ochako's boot was on top of a purple sphere. "That looks like–" he started, before realizing that the wall of vines was leaning down towards them. "Everybody hold on!"

He grabbed his team again with his telekinesis and reactivated the jetpack, firing them away just in time to avoid getting wrapped up by the vines. Unfortunately, the purple ball ripped the boot apart.

"MY BABY!" Mei shrieked.

"Sorry Hatsume, but we needed to escape," Izuku said.

"You didn't escape _shit_!" Katsuki shouted as he launched over Izuku's group. He propelled himself straight at them, and Izuku was about to throw him off-course with his telekinesis when the vines reached up and wrapped around the blonde. "What the fuck?!"

"Hey, is a rider allowed to leave their horse formation?!" a voice asked somewhere in the distance.

"It doesn't matter, as long as the rider doesn't hit the ground!" Midnight called.

One of the vines wrapped itself around Katsuki's headband and ripped it off, before rapidly pulling back. Izuku's eyes followed the vine to a girl who had the vines as hair. They stood up in a large bulb type shape on her head, which was strange because she placed 5th in the obstacle race and Izuku was sure her hair was down. It was also strange because the silver-haired student from 1-B was holding the hair/vines up from behind. Neither of them were wearing a headband, so he could only assume that they had a rider inside of her hair. This thought was only further supported by the fact that Katsuki's headband was pulled inside of the mass of vines.

Meanwhile, the vines that were ensnaring Katsuki threw him off to the side, only for him to be caught by Sero's tape and brought back to his group, which consisted of the Explosion and Tape users of course, Mina, and Eijiro. As Izuku landed, he saw something snap in Katsuki's expression. The blonde said something to his team, before they began chasing down the two Class B students and their mysterious rider.

"Alright Deku," Ochako said up to Izuku. "I think I'm good to use my Quirk for the rest of this round."

"Aww, we gotta stop showing off my babies?" Mei sighed.

"Let's not waste any unnecessary time, kero," Tsuyu said. "Or else we might regret it."

"Alright Uraraka," Izuku smiled down at her. "Make me weightless."

She touched her five fingers to his leg, and he gave Mei her backpack before he lifted off into the air and went high up.

"So... Did we just win?" Mei asked.

"Maybe," Ochako said, before glaring at Mei. "I hope you didn't just jinx it though."

"Those kinds of things aren't real, Ochako," Tsuyu said with a kero.

"Maybe," she shrugged.

"That makes things troublesome," they heard Shoto sigh from nearby them. "He's too fast when he's weightless... I don't suppose we could _force_ Uraraka to release her Quirk?"

"I suppose we could," Momo responded, looking towards Uraraka and her companions.

"We're about halfway through!" Present Mic announced over the field. "Just to let you know!"

"Tsuyu, Hatsume, let's run!" Ochako yelled as Shoto's team began to move towards them rapidly.

"Grab onto me!" Mei said with a smile as she strapped the jetpack around herself. "Let's use my baby to get out of here!" Once Ochako and Tsuyu wrapped their arms around Mei, she clicked the button. But instead of activating like it had before, it just sparked and fizzled. Looking back at it and still smiling, the support course student mused aloud, "Did it short circuit? Or did I just forget to refuel it all the way..?"

Ochako looked over at the other team and saw that they were almost upon them, before yelling, "TSUYU JUMP!"

The frog girl did as requested and leapt away, heading in the opposite direction as Shoto's team. They landed a good distance away with assistance from Mei's one boot, and Ochako saw their classmates discuss for a moment before heading off in a different direction. They must've been after easier prey.

"Safe," Ochako sighed as she let go of the other girls.

"For now, kero," Tsuyu said. "Even if we don't have the headband, we can't let our guards down."

"Right," she sighed again, before looking up in the sky to find their rider floating too high up to clearly make out.

"Where's Midoriya?" she heard someone ask from her left.

Turning, she started to say, "I don't–" before freezing.

Her mind felt hazy. Her body was unresponsive. She couldn't speak or hear anything. Until she heard a voice speak, clearly breaking through the otherwise deafening silence.

"Uraraka, release your Quirk."

Tsuyu shook Ochako's shoulder a moment later, releasing her from the haze, and informed her, "Don't answer anything Shinso says, kero. It's how he activates his Mind Control."

The gears and cogs in Ochako's head began turning once again and she remembered where she was and what she was doing. She remembered what Hitoshi had asked her to do. And when she looked down at her hands, she realized Tsuyu had shaken her awake too late.

_

 **Notes: Hope you liked Izuku's speech. Different from Katsuki's, obviously.**

 **Yeah, the obstacle race was kinda obvious. Unfortunately easy. As to why Katsuki beat Shoto, it's because he's been training harder since learning that Izuku got into U.A. Considering how close they were to each other's times in canon, I feel like that little extra would make itself apparent here.**

 **Ah, sorry I didn't switch up Todoroki's team a whole lot. I just couldn't justify it. There was no reason for him to pick anyone else, and I'm not the kind of person to change things without good reason (usually). Then there's Izuku's team. Really, Ochako was mandatory and I didn't think I could justify getting rid of Hatsume either. I do think it makes sense for Tsuyu though, seeing as how she's rational about these things and knows how strong Izuku and Ochako are together.**

 **I said that I would try desperately to make the second round less easy, and I hope I'm doing that believably. Again, I'm not saying Izuku's team _won't_ win, but I don't think I'd be doing the other characters justice if it was just handed to them.**

 **I know I've been moderately vague about when Izuku and Ochako will get together, but I realized while writing this that they'll already be a couple when Mei gropes him later in the story. Thought I'd let you know that, because it's something I'm looking forward to writing. I mean, in another 20 or so chapters.**

 **As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	12. The Sports Festival Continues

**Welcome back to the next chapter everyone! We're at 950 followers and 740 favorites! Holy shit guys, this is actually really cool. He could hit _1k_ _follows_ by the time the next chapter is out! I didn't consider that I might reach that when I started, this was more just to get my ideas out, but here we are! I can't thank you all enough for the support. I hope it's been well-earned!**

 **bigrig56: Izuku needs concentration to differentiate between different pieces or parts of an object when using his Quirk, so affecting Katsuki's arms like that wouldn't be easy mid-fight.**

 **bens6757: Don't worry about the long review, I'm happy to answer your thoughts! I can't promise anything about Hatsume, but I'll see if I get a chance to include her naturally. I didn't think of it at first, but you're right that Izuku is being carried around by a group of girls. I'm jealous, and I'm sure some others are too. And yes, I keep up with the new manga chapters every week. Glad to see a certain someone getting some canon spotlight. And it's funny that you bring up Torchbearer. Yes I read it, yes I love it, and damn it, I'm mentioning it at the end of this AN.**

 **Andar Arias: Yeah, I actually used a randomizer for most of the tournament matches. Hope it's entertaining! And I was thinking of other situations for pro hero internships, but I haven't decided anything yet.**

 **origamishishou:** **Here are the stats for Izuku's ease with controlling different states of matter... He can control liquids more easily than solids because they are less dense, but it's borderline impossible for him to control any large amount of gas because gases aren't dense _enough_. The molecules are just too energetic for him to get a solid grip on. They just gotta keep moving, y'know?**

 **Logic Soldier: I'm glad you decided to give this another shot!** **Hope I don't disappoint!**

 **demarmotoojeda: I already answered about different states of matter two reviews up from here. What a coincidence, huh? And yes, Izuku will improve things other than weight limit.**

 **Manny Silliezar: Well, I do use underscores to mark changes in location, time, etc. If I miss it, I'd be glad to go back and add them.**

 **Alright! Before you go into the chapter, I'd like to recommend that everyone checks out Torchbearer by btn29** **. It's one of the best MHA fics on this site, and deserves all the attention it can get. The author is such a better writer than I am, and makes the story flow naturally in a way I never can. They write in a way that makes the characters feel so damn real, and the entire thing is obviously thoroughly thought out (as opposed to mine, which is written entirely on the fly). Yet for some reason, this story has over 150 more followers and favorites than that masterpiece! I can't recommend it enough, seriously** **, and I hope you check it out if you haven't already.**

 **That being said, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

 _I_ _do_ _not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _The Sports Festival Continues_

Izuku flew from his team, covered in the bright glow of his Quirk. He felt the breeze against him, and it felt liberating to say the least. Somehow, it always felt liberating when he was affected by Ochako's Zero Gravity. He had never thought that his Quirk felt restrictive until he knew what it felt like to use it in those circumstances. He felt so free to fly, unlike normally when he could only use his Quirk on himself for moments at a time before collapsing from exhaustion. Izuku didn't know why it was difficult, but it just was. In the same way that it was difficult for Ochako to use hers on herself, he mused.

He glanced down at the field below him, barely able to make out the fact that several teams were caught in a wave of ice. He was more than high enough, even higher than the top of the stadium, but he hadn't thought to stop until then. He thought he might lower himself a bit. After all, it'd be difficult to hear when the event was over and he didn't want to make Ochako use her Quirk any more than necessary. Just when he began to lower himself though, he felt gravity begin to pull on his mass, and his Quirk strained against it. In reflex to the sudden force, he released his Quirk and began falling.

"W-What happened..?!" Izuku asked aloud as he looked down. He only looked for a moment though before he had to squeeze his eyes shut because of the air hitting them. "Agh..! Uraraka must've deactivated her Quirk... But why?"

He peaked from one eye to see how far up he still was, and he was surprised that he had fallen so far in what seemed to be only seconds. He used his Quirk to slow himself momentarily in midair and he looked down to try and find his team. He was still a bit too high though, so he shut his eyes and fell again. He used his Quirk again and looked down, and was able to make out a team that was making its way directly under him, though he couldn't make out any features that confirmed that it was actually his team. As he felt a sharp pain in his side, he squeezed his eyes and dropped again.

He chanced a small peak from his left eye to confirm that it was indeed his team, since he might not have been able to use his Quirk more than one more time on himself. Satisfied with the thought that the brown blurb that he saw must've been Ochako, he let himself drop for another second before using his Telekinesis again to halt. He looked down and realized that he had stopped about ten meters above his team, and lowered himself down before plopping on top of them.

"Hah..." he sighed out as they held him up.

"Deku, you alright?" Ochako asked worriedly.

"Sore," he said, slowly standing himself up in the horse formation. "What happened?"

"Sorry, Shinso made me release you," she apologized.

"And I used my Quirk, Zoom, to find exactly where you were up there!" Mei said.

"Thanks guys," he sighed.

"We should hurry with whatever we decide to do, kero," Tsuyu said. "Shinso isn't far behind, and who knows who else might come after us."

Izuku glanced up at the leaderboard. They were still in first of course, Team Todoroki was in second, Team Monoma was in third, and Team Mineta was in fourth. He grinned a little bit, both at the fact that Minoru was making it and that Katsuki wasn't.

"Uraraka, you're good to use your Quirk on me again?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Yeah, let me–"

"MAXIMUM TORQUE! RECIPRO BURST!" Tenya's voice interrupted as Ochako went to touch Izuku's leg.

There was a burst of wind as Shoto's team sped past and the heterochrome-haired teen grabbed the ten million point headband.

"W-What..?" Izuku's stuttered, staring wide-eyed at the other group.

"TEAM TODOROKI TAKES THE TEN MILLION!" Present Mic shouted. "What was that?! Nobody on that team displayed that kind of speed before!"

"Iida, what was that?" Shoto asked as he looked back at Team Midoriya and tied the headband around his neck.

"I put my engines' torque and R.P.M. into overdrive to maximize my speed," he explained, also looking back at Izuku. "It unfortunately stalls my engines momentarily. I haven't shown this technique to anybody yet."

"Deku," Ochako said, prompting the team's rider to look down at her before she pressed her fingers to his leg. "Let's get those points back!"

He nodded his head before looking at Shoto and steeling his gaze.

Shoto blinked as Izuku rocketed past them before careening up into the sky. He felt some kind of panic at the speed and activated his flames, although he couldn't do it until after Izuku had passed. He didn't realize what had even happened until he touched at his neck and felt that none of his headbands were still there. Izuku had grabbed them with his Telekinesis as he passed and taken them with him. After shaking his left arm in disgust and deactivating his old man's Quirk, he looked up at the score board.

Team Midoriya was in first place, Team Monoma was in second, Team Mineta was in third, and Team Shinso was in fourth, though their score was just barely above the score on Shoto's headband.

_

Katsuki finally caught up to the team that had taken his headband. They were pretty fast for extras, since the vine bitch maneuvered with said vines. The way she used the vines as extra limbs was borderline impressive, but it still wasn't shit compared to The Katsuki Bakugo. He leapt forward and stuck his hand inside of her shitty vine cocoon and let rip a decent blast which forced it open.

"OW! What the hell?!" the purple midget yelled as he clutched at his head.

"Oi, you're giving me those headbands!" he yelled at the extra. "NOW!"

"W-Wha–?"

Katsuki didn't exactly have time to socialize with the purple midget as the metal guy was reaching and jumping up at him, so he reached in and grabbed all of the headbands from his neck then blasted off back towards his group.

_

In that one moment that Shoto glanced up at the leaderboard, Team Mineta was knocked off of the board and Team Bakugo replaced it in third.

"Todoroki, I apologize," Tenya said to him. "I was useless in the end."

"It's fine," he shook his head. "I really should've seen it coming."

"Well, what's the plan now?" Denki asked.

"I suppose first place is unobtainable now," he sighed. "Let's go handle the nearest team."

He glanced around. Many teams were immobile because they had already been frozen, one or two teams were disqualified by losing their rider, and a few were wandering aimlessly without any headbands. Then, his eyes landed on Team Shinso and Team Monoma, who were approaching each other.

"One minute left!" Present Mic called out.

"Does everyone know how Shinso's Quirk works?" he asked his team, and received affirmation. "Don't answer anything he says then. Let's get those points."

His team ran towards the two others as Team Monoma's rider seemed to be handing over the headbands from his neck to Hitoshi. But before they could, a vine came out of nowhere and grabbed them from the blonde's hand. Shoto tried sending a wave of ice to catch it, but was too late and only caught the other teams.

"Well, well, if it isn't Scarface," Hitoshi grinned. "Where's your name up on that leaderboard?"

Shoto reached out and tapped Hitoshi's shoulder with his ice pole, forming ice that spread to cover the lower half of his face. While Hitoshi yelled something unintelligible from beneath the ice, Shoto grabbed the headbands from his neck and the one from his head.

Meanwhile, Katsuki was screaming bloody murder while trying to catch Izuku in midair.

Time ran out before anything else could happen though, and Katsuki and Izuku made their ways back down to their respective groups.

"That was amazing Deku!" Ochako gushed. "The way you flew past Todoroki and got the headbands was gr-great..! _Hurk_!" She barely stopped herself from puking as she deactivated her Quirk.

"Uraraka! Are you alright?!" Izuku asked in a small panic.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she said with a wobbly smile.

"Good job, kero," Tsuyu said.

"TEAM MIDORIYA WAS ABLE TO RETAKE THE TEN MILLION AND THEY BAGGED FIRST PLACE!" Present Mic yelled. "And in second place, Team Mineta came back in the last few seconds! In third, Team Bakugo! And Team Todoroki also came back at the last second to take fourth!"

"Fucking third place," Katsuki grumbled.

"Disappointing," Shoto sighed, "but the next round is the important one."

"That Midoriya," Denki grumbled. "First he's all buddy-buddy with Uraraka, and now he got to get carried around by all those girls! What the hell..?"

"We did it!" Minoru exclaimed as Ibara let him down from her hair. He turned to her and tried to summon tears. "C-Can I have a hug?"

"Of course!" she said as she leaned down and embraced the short boy, completely oblivious to any ulterior motive.

"Yeah, take that Class A!" Tetsutetsu yelled at Team Todoroki and Team Bakugo.

"In fifth place," Present Mic continued, "is Team Monoma! We need sixteen people for the next round, so can Team Monoma pick one representative from their team to advance!"

Neito was promptly nominated to move forward, and the students were dismissed for lunch.

_

Izuku stood across from Shoto in the empty entryway at the side of the stadium. The heterochrome-haired teen had pulled him aside as the students were walking towards the cafeteria, and they had made their way here. Neither one had yet spoken, and Izuku was getting a little unsettled by the tense feeling in the air.

After a few moments of silence, Izuku spoke up, "So Todoroki... What did you want to talk about?" After another second, he sighed, "The dining hall will be packed soon, and I'd rather sit with my friends when I eat."

"You were fast," Shoto said finally. "Too fast, faster than Iida. You surprised me, overwhelmed me... And you made me break my pledge."

"Your pledge?" Izuku asked, shifting slightly.

"My father is Endeavor," he sighed, looking down. "He's a powerful man. But he's a bastard, and only thinks about becoming stronger. He's worked hard to make a name for himself as a hero, but... All Might has always been a roadblock to him. He couldn't ever beat him, so he came up with an idea."

"Why are you telling me about this?" Izuku asked.

"Have you ever heard of Quirk marriages?"

"Y-Yeah," he nodded.

"My father... He wanted to create offspring that could surpass All Might even though he couldn't. With his fame and fortune, he got my mother's family to agree to the marriage. All because he wanted her Quirk. He raised me to surpass All Might as a hero. My only purpose was to fulfill _his_ ambition. I hate living like this... Being used as a tool. You know, I don't think I can remember a time that my mother looked happy."

Izuku tensed uncomfortably.

"She gave me my scar," he said, making Izuku's eyes widen. "After so much, she couldn't tell the difference between my left side and my father anymore. She poured boiling water on my face. And I don't blame her for it. _He_ ruined my family's lives. To spite him, I pledged to become a great hero with only mother's Quirk... A pledge I broke when you pressured me, and I wasn't fast enough to even do anything with it... I can't break this pledge again. If I can win this festival without using my left side again, then I'll have succeeded in taking his ambitions away."

"I... I'm sorry, I don't know what to say to that," Izuku sighed.

"It's alright," Shoto said as he turned to leave. "And it's alright if you don't want to tell me what's going on between you and All Might, but... The fact that he's behind you is all the more reason to beat you without _his_ Quirk."

' _Todoroki... Your life is just... So unfair,_ ' Izuku thought. ' _I don't want to take this from you, but..._ '

"Todoroki," he called before Shoto could leave. "I won't just let you win either. I can't understand what it's like for you, but... I'm here because there are people who believe in me. I want to win this to repay their confidence in me. And yeah, especially All Might. So, I won't lose to you."

Unknown to the two students, Katsuki overheard their conversation.

_

"HEY THERE EVERYBODY!" Present Mic announced. "For everyone that's been eliminated, this isn't the end of the festival for you! We have recreational activities for everyone to have fun with! We even have cheerleaders who flew out here from America! But then we're onto the final event of the festival: A one-on-one tournament!"

"Man, I'm excited to get up on that stage that I see every year!" Eijiro exclaimed.

"Is it always a tournament?" Mina asked.

"No," Sero said. "It's always some one-on-one event, but the format always changes. Last year was sword fighting, ahaha!"

"Okay!" Midnight said as she walked up onstage holding a box. "We'll decide the bracket via lottery! After that, we'll get right on with the festivities! Of course you don't have to participate in them, since you might want to save your strength for the tournament. Now, let's begin with the first-place team! All members of Team Midoriya, please come up on stage!"

After all was said and done, the match-ups were:

 _Match 1: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu VS Momo Yaoyorozu_

 _Match 2: Mei Hatsume VS Neito Monoma_

 _Match 3: Izuku Midoriya VS Tenya Iida_

 _Match 4: Mina Ashido VS Shoto Todoroki_

 _Match 5: Minoru Mineta VS Hanta Sero_

 _Match 6: Ibara Shiozaki VS Katsuki Bakugo_

 _Match 7: Tsuyu Asui VS Denki Kaminari_

 _Match 8: Ochako Uraraka VS Eijiro Kirishima_

"Ah, Midoriya," Tenya said as he approached Izuku. "We'll be facing off in the first round!"

"Yeah! Let's do our best Iida!" he said with a grin and a thumbs up.

"Uraraka," Eijiro hissed through his teeth. "That'll be a toughie."

"Let's have a good match!" she said, jumping up beside him.

"Kaminari, I don't have much of a chance, kero," Tsuyu said.

"Aww, don't be so glum!" Denki chuckled uncomfortably.

"I'm not glum, just realistic."

"Ah, Todoroki!" Mina exclaimed. "He's like the hottest guy in class! Maybe I'll be a little playful with him, hehe~"

"Shiozaki?" Katsuki tilted his head as he tried to think of who that was.

"Ah, that'd be me!" Ibara said as she waved at the blonde she'd be facing.

' _So it's Vine Hair?_ ' he thought.

_

Whether the students were psyching themselves up or trying to calm themselves down, or conserving energy or participating in the events, they all prepared themselves for the final round in their own ways. The wait was over before they even realized, and they all crowded into the stands to watch the first match.

Denki leaned down and whispered in Izuku's ear, "Midoriya, how do you do it?"

"Do... what?" the green-haired student asked, looking at the blonde in confusion.

"You were _carried around by a group of girls_!" he hissed. "I'm feeling like this is a betrayal of our friendship dude!"

"W-What?! I didn't–! I mean, I wasn't thinking about that!" Izuku stuttered, blushing slightly at the realization.

"I'm calling bull. You're a red-blooded male too! There's no way you didn't realize!" he insisted, poking Izuku's shoulder. "So what is it? What do you do that makes you so good with girls?!"

"Nothing, really!" Izuku insisted.

"C'mon, bro code! You can't keep all the girls for yourself! Help a guy out!"

"I can't!" he insisted again.

"What're you guys talking about?" Ochako asked, sitting next to Izuku on the opposite side.

While Izuku was unable to come up with a response, Hitoshi, who was sitting next to Denki's interrogation, sighed, "It's something irrelevant and annoying. Don't worry about it."

Ochako blinked a couple of times at the brain washer, before Denki leaned back from Izuku grumbling.

"Hey guys!" Mina said as she arrived with Toru and sat next to Denki. "What's goin on?"

"Nothing," Denki crossed his arms as Eijiro chuckled uncomfortably next to him.

"Oh, Yaomomo's up first, right?" Toru said. "I'm excited!"

"Me too! I hope she does well!" Mina cheered.

"Yeah!" Ochako agreed. "Who is she up against again?"

"Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu..." Izuku said. "I think he's the one with silver hair from 1-B that challenged us in the hallway a few weeks ago."

"I saw him use his Quirk during the Obstacle Course. It's pretty manly," Eijiro said.

"What is it?" Izuku asked, turning around towards him quickly.

"I don't know what it's called, but his skin turns silver and hardens," he shrugged. "Actually, it's kinda the exact same as my Quirk in terms of applications. I can't help but want him to win this a little bit."

"KIRISHIMA!" Tenya called, leaning out from behind Ochako and chopping his hand. "You should not root against fellow 1-A members! Let alone your class president!"

"I know man, but that's like acknowledging that I'd lose against her! No self-respecting man would–"

"Would you all be quiet?" Hitoshi asked. "My headache is bad enough without you all–"

"ALRIGHTYO!" Present Mic shouted out to the crowd, thoroughly rattling Hitoshi. "Let's start the first match of the first years' final round! First up from Class B, the juggernaut with steel skin! Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu!"

_

Tetsutetsu walked out onto the ring accompanied by applause from the crowd. He was slamming his fist into his pain and grinning widely.

"Next out onto the ring is a girl that's as smart as she is beautiful! The Class A president, Momo Yaoyorozu!"

Momo looked composed as she walked out, a determined look on her face. Present Mic's introduction and the cheers of the crowd did little to throw her off.

"Oh, Class A's prez?" Tetsutetsu said aloud with a confident grin. "Just the right way to start off! I'll do my best to represent my class in this fight!"

"Good luck," Momo called as she lifted her arms, her face still unmoving.

"LET THE FIRST MATCH BEGIN!"

Momo jumped back towards the edge of the ring as she began creating a shield and staff in her hands. When Tetsutetsu reached her, she rolled to the side of him and smacked him in the back with her staff, causing him to stumble a few feet before catching himself right at the edge of the ring.

Present Mic announced, "Yaoyorozu almost knocked Tetsutetsu out in one blow, but he saved himself!"

"Didn't feel a thing!" he chuckled as he turned and ran at her again.

He threw his metallic fists at her a few times, sending sparks off of her shield as she backed up under his volley. Momo realized that she had just missed an opening to ring him out. She could get the chance again, if she just got to the edge again and then tripped him. But when she glanced back, she realized that he was pushing towards the corner.

"Tetsutetsu is pushing the Class A president back!" Present Mic shouted.

' _He probably realized that he was in a bad position last time..._ ' She thought as she retreated to the corner. ' _I_ _won't be able to roll out of the way if he corners me! But..._ '

"You're running out of space, Class A prez!" Tetsutetsu said, bringing up both of his arms to slam down on her shield.

But when he struck, she pushed up to counter his force and knocked him off-balance. The metal-on-metal impact rattled her head, but she pushed past that and slammed her staff into his legs. He fell forward, and she caught him with her round shield and pushed him over it in a roll.

"TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU LANDS OUT OF BOUNDS! MOMO YAOYOROZU WINS!" Present Mic yelled.

_

"Yeah Yaomomo!" Mina cheered along with most of the rest of 1-A.

"Hey Deku," Ochako said, turning to her friend, "did you see–? Geh?!"

Izuku was currently muttering too fast for her to understand and scribbling quick yet legible notes in his notebook.

"D-Deku?" Ochako asked again.

"Midoriya, shut up!" Hitoshi groaned exasperatedly.

"A-Ah?!" Izuku looked up quickly with wide eyes. "Sorry Hitoshi, what did you say?"

"Nothing, I just wanted you to shut it," he sighed.

"I wanted to see what you thought of the match," Ochako giggled.

"Oh, sorry Uraraka. Well, Yaoyorozu wasn't very efficient with her movements, and she could've ended it way faster than she did. I'll chalk that up to the fact that Tetsutetsu's Quirk was an unknown variable, but it still stands." Then he went into full stutter mode, " _And Tetsutetsu made even more mistakes. If he was a little faster at the very beginning then he could've caught her off guard, but he was also being cautious of her Quirk. After she made the shield and staff though, he should've assumed that she knew how to use them and been cautious instead of just wailing on her. Besides that, Yaoyorozu could've made more effective tools in the first–_ "

"Shut the fuck up Deku!" Katsuki shouted from behind Eijiro.

"S-Sorry!" Izuku said with a nervous chuckle as he scratched his neck.

"Why the hell am I sitting here?" Hitoshi asked himself, sinking as far down into his seat as he could.

Ochako pouted, a little upset that Katsuki had interrupted Izuku's analysis. She thought it was interesting to listen to, and quite impressive that he could think it out so thoroughly so fast.

"Hey, don't be such a party pooper," Mina cast a grin at Katsuki. "It's fun to watch!"

"Midori, why _do_ you mutter like that?" Toru asked, leaning forward across Mina.

"I'm sorry, it's just a habit," he said, continuing to scratch his neck.

"Don't apologize Deku," Ochako giggled from next to him.

"But really, with analysis skills like _that_ , you could be a detective," Denki said.

"Ooh, that sounds super manly!" Eijiro said. "But Toru has a point. How did you get so good at that?"

"Please everyone! Do not hound him for answers so much!" Tenya asserted while repeatedly chopping his arm. "Good students should respect each others' privacy and–!"

"It's fine Iida, thanks," Izuku laughed. "I guess it's because... I've always liked heroes a lot, and when I was little I started taking notes on the best heroes out there. Over time, I started analyzing their Quirks and ways to counteract them. Thinking about Quirks and heroes like that kinda became a hobby of mine."

"Notes?" Toru asked, before pointing her arm at his notebook. "Like those?"

"Oh, yeah," Izuku looked down at his notes. "Actually, I made notes on everyone in our class. It's especially useful in this festi–"

"You made _what_?!" Tenya, Denki, Eijiro, Mina and Toru exclaimed in unison, making Hitoshi flinch although he elected to ignore them in the end.

"Oh, did you finish them?" Ochako asked, to which Izuku gave a nod.

"Midoriya, I am your friend," Tenya said. "And while I have no issue with this personally, you should not do something such as take notes on your classmates without their permission! It can be viewed as an invasion of priva–!"

"No man, it's totally cool!" Eijiro argued. "It's really smart since we're all competing to become great heroes! He'll have an edge on everyone else in class!"

"Hey, can I see your notebook?" Mina asked with a wide smile.

"Well, sure–"

"Great!" Mina quickly snatched it from Izuku's hand and started flipping through the pages. "Woah, you really got notes for everyone! And you even sketched us accurately too!"

"You're such a good artist!" Toru squealed excitedly. She pointed to a page where Izuku had actually drawn an empty U.A. uniform, "Hey look, there's me! Wow, you have notes even though my Quirk just makes me invisible!"

"Hey, where's my page?" Eijiro asked, grabbing at the notebook. After getting to his page, he laughed, "Wow, you _are_ a good sketch artist! Let's see... Varying my level of hardness to conserve energy? Can I do that?"

"Most of the notes are speculation because I obviously don't know _everything_ about anyone's Quirks," Izuku explained. "Sorry if I got something wrong."

"No no, don't apologize!" Eijiro laughed. "It's just... I've never tried..."

Mina took the notebook back and looked at the front cover before gasping, "This is notebook #14?!"

"You have thirteen more?" Toru exclaimed. "All filled out?!"

"Yeah..?" Izuku asked more than answered, as he had no idea what was going on anymore.

"What's going on?" Momo asked as she sat down in the seat Toru had saved for her.

"Look at this!" Mina and Toru exclaimed as they presented the notebook to Momo.

"Actually, could I have that back?" Izuku asked.

"Not yet!" Mina said as she looked for Momo's page. "Look, here are some notes on you Yaomomo!"

"Everyone's so loud..." Hitoshi rubbed at his temples.

As the group behind him continued looking at his notebook, Izuku gave up and slumped forward with a sigh.

_

"The contestants of the second match are ready!" Present Mic announced. "First up, from Class H of the support department, it's the mad inventor Mei Hatsume!"

"How apt!" she said as she walked out onto the ring and waved up at the execs of the big support companies.

"Next is the most competitive guy from Class 1-B! Really, he's a borderline 1-B supremacist! Neito Monoma!"

"I have no issues with support course students," Neito said, brushing a stray hair from his face. "But I'll walk away with the win here."

"I got no problem with that!" Mei grinned, reaching to a microphone on her headset as Neito's expression shifted to one of confusion.

"Let match two begin!"

Neito hung back at first to see what Mei would do, and Mei activated the microphone, which was apparently hooked up to the stadium's speaker system. The entire match ended up being a sales pitch for her support items, as she used them to swiftly avoid any attack from the blonde. Not that he was able to do anything with his Copy Quirk anyways. Once she was done presenting all of her prepared "babies", Mei took a bow and left the ring, letting Neito automatically move on to the next round.

_

"How dishonorable!" Tenya said as he chopped his hand. "This festival is meant for those who are serious about winning to compete against each other!"

"Not really," Izuku said. "This is a platform for U.A. students to get recognized by the higher-ups of the hero industry. It may be an opportunity for hero students to be spotted by pros, but it's an equally big opportunity for someone like Hatsume. She also wants to succeed in her field, after all."

"Ah, I see! Of course U.A. would take all of its students into consideration! Thank you for correcting me Midoriya!" Tenya said.

Izuku hummed and nodded at his friend, when Midnight suddenly called, "Would the competitors for round three please come to the preparation rooms?"

"I... suppose that's us, Midoriya," Tenya said as he stood up. "We should both adequately prepare ourselves."

"Yeah," Izuku nodded and stood up. "Let's go get ready."

"Hey," Ochako said up to them before they left. She smiled widely, "Both of you, good luck! Give it your all!"

"Right," Izuku nodded.

"Of course!" Tenya said with a small smile.

The two of them walked off, and Ochako leaned back in her chair. She felt conflicted. She knew she should've felt impartial, but it was difficult. Of course she didn't want either of them to be eliminated in the first round, since that would lower their chances of getting many internship requests, but she knew that one of them had to to lose. She'd feel guilty if she rooted against Tenya, considering he was one of her closest friends, but she couldn't help but feel partial to Izuku.

"Uraraka, who are you rooting for in the next match?" Eijiro interrupted her thoughts.

"Oh yeah," Denki said. "They're both like your best friends, right?"

"Ah, yeah," she sighed, looking down. "I dunno, I kinda want them both to win, but–"

" _But you'd rather it be Midori, huh_?" Mina whispered from right next to her ear.

"W-WHAT?!" Ochako shrieked and flinched back from the pink girl, her own skin suddenly rivalling her friend's.

"What?!" Eijiro stood up and looked down at the girls in concern. "What did Ashido say?"

"N-Nothing!" Ochako asserted before turning around and looking down at the field.

_

Izuku sighed as he finished stretching before taking a sip of his water. He glanced at the exit before him that led into the center of the stadium.

' _Iida..._ ' he inwardly sighed. ' _I wish we didn't get paired for the first round, but... I have to win. For what I said to Todoroki, and for my mother and for All Might, and for everyone else who helped me to be here right now. And to meet your challenge as well as I can._ '

"LET'S GET INTO MATCH THREE OF THIS TOURNAMENT!" Present Mic's voice rang through the stadium. "First up, it seems like this kid's the one to watch! He got first place in both the first and second events of the festival, on top of clearing that obstacle course in record time! The vice president of Class 1-A, Izuku Midoriya!!!"

Izuku walked onto the ring and looked up at the crowd. The sheer volume of attendance was still intimidating, but he managed a smile and a wave.

"Next is probably the second most diligent student in this school! And he's allowed to be, because he's fast enough to have that kind of spare time on his hands! Also from Class 1-A, Tenya Iida!"

"Second most diligent..?" Tenya pondered as he walked up onto the ring across from Izuku. When they were both in position, he said, "I wish you the best of luck, Midoriya."

"Same here Iida," Izuku said with a nod.

"Alright, are you both ready?" Midnight asked, glancing back and forth between the teens, who both nodded. "Alright then... Match three... _BEGIN_!!!"

_

 **Notes: I kinda want to get this out of the way, just cuz it'll be a pain to remember, so here is the arrangement of students that we'll be mostly focusing on in the stands. The order goes from the aisle inwards.**

 **Front row: Tenya, Ochako, Izuku, Hitoshi.**

 **Second row: Momo, Toru, Mina, Denki, Eijiro.**

 **Third row (not as relevant in terms of banter): Ojiro, Fumikage, Tsuyu, Kyoka, Katsuki.**

 **Well, I hope you like the match-ups for the tournament! I used a random number generator to decide who would be where for the most part. Honestly, Katsuki vs Ibara might be the one I'm looking forward to the most.**

 **And I'm sorry I didn't give any spotlight to Hatsume's round, but it was the exact same as canon really. Except it took way longer for them to finish because Monoma doesn't have super speed. Aside from that, I hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	13. Bonus Chapter 2

**Because we reached 1k follows! Thanks a lot!** **I actually wrote this this morning when I saw that we were at 999 and was like "It could happen any minute!" So thanks! The next chapter might take some time because school started back up this past week for me, but I won't abandon it in any way! Thanks again for 1000 followers, hope you guys enjoy this little story!**

 _I do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _Bonus Chapter_

 _Minoru_ _And His Team_

Minoru had made it through the obstacle race! And with decent placing too. After being kicked from 1-A by Aizawa, he had realized that he was being rather straightforward and short-sighted in his Quirk's application. He had worked on that ever since, and was now able to more effectively use his power to make his way through the race. It mainly consisted of throwing his balls on the ground and then leaping forwards from them, but it worked. Now though, he had a bigger problem.

' _Who_ _the hell will team with me?!'_

He looked around and saw everybody joining into groups. They were mostly sticking to their own classes, and the few people he knew from General Studies that had also passed the first event had already joined together as well.

' _Shit... Well, nobody from 1-A would want to team with me, that's for sure. I gotta find someone from 1-B with an opening for me, and hope they're competent... Otherwise, I won't be able to show everyone how much I've improved in Round 3!_ '

"Are you looking for a team?" a girl's voice asked from behind him.

Minoru turned and looked up to see a beautiful girl with vines for hair. His mouth dropped open, before he collected himself and replied, "Yes!" He tried to reign in his first gut reaction–something else he had thought to work on after getting booted from the hero course, as heroes needed popularity and public approval–and once he was sure he had mentally prepared himself, he asked, "Could I join yours?"

"Of course!" she smiled brightly. "You're the one from General Education that confronted 1-A a couple of weeks ago, yes?"

"Yeah, that was me," he nodded.

"Well, is it true that you were kicked out of that class?"

"Yeah," Minoru sighed. "On the first day, Aizawa-Sensei tested out the physical applications of our Quirks. He switched me out with someone from Gen Ed because I got last place."

"How upsetting!" she gasped.

"THAT'S THE KIND OF GUY TEACHING THAT FREAKING CLASS?!" a tall boy with silver hair and thick eyelashes shouted as he appeared by them. "No wonder that class is rotten!"

"Tetsutetsu, please don't be so intolerant!" the girl with the vines said.

"Sorry, Shiozaki!" he grinned. "Wanna form a three-way team?"

' _THREE WAY?!_ ' Minoru inwardly yelled. ' _They're testing my resolve!_ '

"I think that'd be great," she said before turning to Minoru. "What do you think?"

"It'll be great!" he smiled, before extending his hand. "I'm Minoru Mineta, by the way!"

"I'm Ibara Shiozaki, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" she smiled brightly as she took his hand.

' _Her hand is so soft!_ ' he realized.

"And I'm Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu!" the boy announced as he took Minoru's hand next. Then he leaned in uncomfortably close and said, "Let's get those 1-A bastards!"

"What exactly do you have against them?" he asked.

Tetsutetsu scoffed, "Heh. They got a ton of spotlight after that villain attack, so everybody's been fawning over them like they're the only hero class here! We passed the same exam! We just gotta show them all that we're just as good, if not better! And that applies to you too, right Mineta?"

"Yeah," the Gen Ed student nodded. "So, what sort of formation should we use?"

"I have an idea about that," Ibara said. "We can take advantage of–no offense–your stature, Mineta. You could be the perfect rider! And Tetsutetsu's strength, too."

"Yeah? Let's hear it!" Tetsutetsu said.

"Mineta, would you have any objections to being inside of my hair?"

"... HUH?!" Mineta yelled. ' _Am I dreaming? What did she just say?!_ '

"I can make a cocoon with my vines to protect you and the headband, and Tetsutetsu can can act as our rear guard. Then I can grab other headbands and give them to you under the cocoon."

"Great plan!" Tetsutetsu grinned. "Let's do it!"

" _Yes_!" Minoru whisper-yelled, pumping his fist before looking up at Ibara. "Sounds good to me!"

"Oh, and what's your Quirk?" she asked.

"Pop-Off! These balls on my head come off. They can stick to any surface or person, so it's great for immobilizing! They don't stick to me though, they just bounce off. Oh, and they regrow after I take one off, although my head starts bleeding if I use too many."

"That can be useful! We can immobilize people and then take their headbands! What a wonderful Quirk!" Ibara clasped her hands and smiled brightly once more. So bright that Minoru had to look away.

' _She's so genuinely nice! I almost feel bad for the way I'm thinking about this... Almost. They're making it very difficult to stop my nature from coming out... I mean they're literally putting me inside of her hair! I might need to do_ something _to touch her in some way later... I_ _just hope she doesn't hate me for it._ '

_

The hug from Ibara after the end of the Cavalry Battle was thoroughly satisfying for Minoru, especially since she accidentally hugged his face against her left breast. Really, she was too pure for her own good. But it seemed like she was genuinely glad to grant him the hug, so that removed most of his guilt.

' _Still though... This is HEAVEN!_ '


	14. The Sports Festival Keeps Continuing

**Hey, I'm back! Thanks again for 1k, and I'm glad you guys seemed to enjoy the Mineta special. Also, between then and now we hit the 800 favorites mark! And as I'm writing this, I just got an email saying that this story was added to the community 'Green Tea Is Healthy For The Soul'! It's the only one I follow at the moment, but it's been inactive for almost a year. When I got the email the other day that 'The Power of Five' was added (which is a great story btw), I was super happy to see activity there again. And then, out of nowhere, they added this one! I know that it isn't the first community to add this story, but it feels really nice to have that recognition from it. I appreciate all of the support!**

 **Manny Siliezar: Well if it's only a small inconvenience then I'm glad, because I really have no idea what to tell you. I use my phone too, but they show up for me. Well, more specifically I use the app, so if you're using the mobile website that might be it? About Hatsume, I actually agree with you to a point, but from a writing perspective it's not good material. And yeah, it wasn't really an invasion of privacy. I kinda wanted to show Iida's up-tightness.**

 **PleaseCallMeOut: Yes he can squish and manipulate objects, but not very well. It's the same idea as what I said in the last AN in regards to him focusing on different parts of an object. I don't think there's a lower limit to size unless we get down to low amounts of cells.** **And sorry, but unless Mineta and Shoto both get to the final round, they won't fight each other. Mineta might still get burnt tho...**

 **Ander Arias: I said that _most_ of the match-ups were random. Though, all I really manipulated was the fact that Ochako would've been up against Ibara, so I rerolled for her. And yeah, Izuku vs Iida was actually random.**

 **bens6757: Yeah, I'll add the voice modulator. And I have pretty much decided that I'll change from Gran Torino for Izuku's internship.**

 **Malchior: Holy shit, you pretty much just gutted this story. Well, I'm gonna delete everything now. Joking aside, you're completely right about most of what you said, and I have little excuse aside from "I'm not a professional writer and this is just a fan fic so don't take it seriously." Still, there are a couple of things I won't ignore here. Like Izuku's distance, for example. I did mean that he has a 15 meter radius, not diameter. And I suppose I was thinking that yards and meters are the same, even though meters are slightly larger. So it's actually about a 13.5 meter radius of reach. As for taking everybody's headbands at the start, that would've been stupid in terms of strategy. Not only does he not need to because they're already in first, but it would make them an even bigger target. Then in regards to using his Quirk on others, I actually made the decision while writing the Battle Training that Izuku has trouble using his Telekinesis on people if they resist. Mainly for balancing, because Izuku would be way too OP (May/may not change if and when he gets OFA). So really, it isn't traditional telekinesis, but a modified version that I've slapped onto Deku. And yes, there will continue to be plenty of inconsistencies.**

 **Blaze1992: Good point, probably should've included that. Especially since he already has pouches on his costume.**

 **Alright, now with that out of the way, let's get into this. I am disappointed in myself in regards to the Deku vs Tenya fight. It might be that I'm being too hard on myself, since I went over it like 5 times and couldn't think of what to do, but I hope you all don't hate it.**

 **Oh, and a lot of you mentioned that you liked the notebook part. Like, a lot of you specifically mentioned it. I'll, uh, keep that in mind.**

 _I do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story_

_

 _The Sports_ _Festival_ _Keeps Continuing_

" _BEGIN_!!!" Midnight announced.

Tenya stood back, which surprised Izuku until he realized that the Engine Quirked teen was outside of his own Quirk's range. He was waiting on Izuku to make the first move, which he was glad to. Izuku ran forward, attempting to get close enough to Tenya to use his telekinesis, but when he reached the center of the ring, his classmate began running in a circle around him.

' _What is he doing?_ ' Izuku thought as Tenya became simply a blurred circle around him. _'If I move in any direction he'll be in my range... But if I use my Quirk on him at that speed... The momentum will probably instantly break my hold and he'll have a chance to attack... He's thought this through, huh?_ _Still, I have to do it. It's better than waiting for an attack from behind!_ '

Izuku ran outwards towards one of the ring's edges and used his Quirk to stop Tenya in his tracks. Like he'd predicted though, his hold was broken immediately. Tenya grinned up at him before firing directly at him. Izuku couldn't do much in that split second except brace for the impact as he was kicked head-on in less than a second. He was able to bring up his arms, which protected his core from the impact, but he was still launched a good distance and rolled to a stop near the edge. He stood, not quite out of bounds but dangerously close, and looked up at his friend.

Tenya was waiting again. No doubt he assumed that Izuku didn't have much of a recharge period after his Quirk's hold was broken, which was correct. Izuku was indeed able to use his telekinesis again. But if Tenya thought that he could just pull the same move again, he was dead wrong.

Izuku ran back into the center of the ring and Tenya was quick to run in circles again. If Izuku didn't make his move quickly, he was sure that Tenya would use his Recipro Burst to catch him totally off-guard, so he had to put his makeshift plan into action soon. He stepped towards the edge so that his friend was in his Quirk's range, and reached out. He tried to focus as fast as he could, because he knew it'd only be a few seconds before he got kicked, and was able to find his target just in time. As Tenya was about to turn and attack, Izuku used his telekinesis to grab onto his shoe. His Quirk's hold was instantly broken again, but the damage had been done.

Tenya tripped and flew forwards parallel to the ground. That didn't last long though, because his engines were still firing and they drove his legs down into the ground. The friction acted as a natural brake, and he slid to a stop at the edge of the ring.

"That was close!" he exclaimed.

But Izuku had expected that. He began running towards Tenya as soon as he had tripped him up, and by the time the blue-haired ten had begun to stand, Izuku was able to push him over the boundary line with his Quirk.

"TENYA IIDA IS OUT OF BOUNDS!" Midnight announced. "IZUKU MIDORIYA WINS!"

_

"Yeah!" Ochako cheered, before blushing and covering her mouth when she remembered that she was supposed to be neutral.

"See? I told you she'd be rooting for Midori," Mina said, elbowing Toru. "Cough it up!"

"Ugh, fiiine!" she sighed, handing Mina five dollars. "I was sure she wouldn't take sides..."

"I was thinking the same thing," Momo mused with a nod.

" _Oh my God please stop_ ," Ochako muttered as she buried her face in her hands.

"Huh? You say something Ochako?" Mina asked.

"Nothin!" she shouted indignantly, looking up at them with her cherry red face.

"Hey, it's fine! Nothing to be embarrassed about!" Mina laughed.

"Says you," Ochako sighs, looking back down.

"Can Mina Ashido and Shoto Todoroki report to the preparation rooms for round four?" Midnight called.

"Ah, gotta go!" Mina said as she stood up. "Wish me luck!"

All of the girls in the immediate area collectively said "good luck!" as she walked away.

"Isn't she too cheerful about this?" Denki asked. "She's up against the strongest guy in class."

"OI!" Katsuki leaned over from behind Eijiro and hit Denki on the top of his head. "What the fuck did I say about calling him that?!"

"Damn it, sorry!" he said as he rubbed his head.

"Nah, she's got a pretty good counter for Todoroki's ice!" Eijiro grinned at Denki. "That's how she was able to get a spot on Bakugo's team, after all."

"Yeah," Katsuki nodded. "Raccoon Eyes can melt right through."

"Raccoon eyes?" Denki, Kyoka, and a few others asked.

"He's been calling Ashido that ever since I introduced them," Eijiro sighed. "It's like he remembers nobody's names..."

"Shut up, Shitty Hair."

"SEE?! Like that!" he exclaimed. "And my hair isn't even that different from his!"

A few nodded in agreement, egging on the ticking time bomb that Katsuki Bakugo was at the moment.

"I see!" they heard Tenya's voice approaching them. "I wouldn't have thought that such a straightforward attack would've worked on someone that can strategize like you!"

"You overthought that way too much," Izuku chuckled. "If you just kept the pressure on me, you would've won easily."

"MIDORIYA! I WILL TAKE THIS ADVICE TO HEART!"

"Don't bow, there's no reason!"

"Ah, you're back!" Momo called, looking back at the pair as they approached. "Good match!"

"You both did really well!" Ochako smiled as they sat down in their seats on either side of her.

"But Midoriya was the better contestant today," Tenya said. "I have not forgotten my words earlier however! I still see us as rivals, and I will work to surpass this speed bump on my journey to heroism!"

"Not likely," Izuku grinned. "Because I'll be working to stay in the lead just as hard!"

"Of course I've taken your growth into account as well!" Tenya said with an arm chop. "I will certainly need to grow at a much more rapid pace than you to overtake your progress!"

"I... don't think it's that simple," Izuku chuckled.

"Aww, look at you guys!" Toru exclaimed. "Being such good sports about it!"

"Of course! There should be no animosity held in a competition in which both competitors gave their best effort!" Tenya said matter-of-factly.

"I'll never get over how you talk, Iida," Ochako said.

"Hm? How is that?" Momo asked.

"Well, you talk the same way Yaomomo. Like rich people!"

"R-Rich?" Momo blushed slightly and looked away. "Well, I do suppose that my family is rather well-off..."

"See? They're totally rich!" Ochako said to everyone else.

"Yeah, I can see that," Eijiro chuckled.

"Nah, that's just sophisticated rhetoric," Denki shrugged. "It has more to do with one's manners and personality than it necessarily does with other factors such as wealth or upbringing– _khg_!"

"Shut the fuck up, Dunce Face," Katsuki said after hitting him on the head again. "You're trying too hard. It's annoying."

"God, stop doing that dude!" Denki said as he rubbed his head.

Ochako turned back around and glanced at Izuku next to her, who was looking at his notebook. Where did he keep that thing? They were wearing their gym uniforms, which didn't have big enough pockets... Not that thinking about it was important.

"So Deku, who do you think is gonna win this match?" she asked.

Without hesitation and without looking up from his notebook, he replied, "Todoroki."

"Really?" she titled her head. "Kirishima and Bakugo said that her Quirk is a good counter against his ice."

"It is in small amounts, but Todoroki should be able to launch way too much ice way too quickly for her to melt," he said, flipping a page of his notebook. "But we might get a better look at his max output here."

"Oh," she said and tilted her head.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE!" Present Mic announced. "TIME FOR THE FOURTH MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT! EVERYBODY SAY YYEEEEEAAAAH!"

The crowd cheered even louder than they had been already, and most of the U.A. students paled as they remembered how different their reaction was during the entrance exam orientation.

"First up is one of the most distinctive faces you'll see today! Her personality is just as colorful as her skin! IT'S 1-A'S MINA ASHIDO!"

_

Mina walked out and greeted the crowd as cheerily as she could, smiling widely and waving in every direction. Truth be told, she was beyond nervous. Shoto was definitely one of the class's heaviest hitters, and she was... well, not. She was confident that she had a better chance against him than most of their classmates. In fact, it was the sole reason Eijiro was able to get her a spot on Katsuki's team (she'd thank him again later).

"Next up is _also_ one of the most distinctive faces you'll see today! One of the students who got into 1-A by recommendation, and also the son of the Flame Hero Endeavor, it's SHOTO TODOROKI!"

Shoto had a disinterested look on his face, which was normal for him. But Mina was determined to do something to break his composure in some way.

"Hey Todo!" she called, waving at him before winking and striking a pose. "Let's have fun together, alright?"

He quirked an eyebrow, but otherwise showed no reaction to her teasing. And that got on her nerves, so she decided that she was gonna take it more seriously.

"Are both of the contestants ready?" Midnight asked. Upon their nods, she announced, "Three... Two... One... BEGIN!!"

Shoto opened with a blast of ice going straight towards Mina, which didn't exactly surprise her. What _did_ surprise her was the scale of the glacier he had unleashed. Her body was completely encased in the giant wave, and she was _freezing_.

"BRRR!" she shivered. "You're so cold!"

"... A... Ashido, are you able to move?" Midnight asked after processing what Shoto had just done.

"A-Ah, well, I mean..." Mina tilted her head back and forth. "If I say no then I lose, but..." A stream of her strongest acid shot out of the ice and she started using it to melt herself out. Once she was free, she laughed and stood up above them on the ice, "if I said yes, then that would've ruined the element of surprise, right?!"

Shoto narrowed his eyes and shot another blast of ice at her. Instead of letting it catch her this time, Mina shot a stream of her acid forwards and melted a hole straight through to the other side. She washed the stronger acid out with a coat of her weakest acid so that it wouldn't melt through her clothes, and went through it like a slide. She slid out at Shoto's feet and, since she had incredible agility, was able to hook one of her legs around one of his. She stood up on her other leg, tripped him, and shoved him down on the ground.

' _Now's the time to really get under your skin!_ _Try to keep cool with this!_ ' she thought giddily as she leaned down and placed her hand on the middle of his chest. "I can't exactly immobilize you, so... How about I settle for melting your shirt off, hot stuff? Whaddya think?"

Shoto's eyes bulged, and he thrust his hand against her stomach before firing a pillar of ice straight up. The force was enough to knock the wind out of her and launch her out of bounds.

"Mina Ashido is out of bounds! Shoto Todoroki wins!"

"Gueh!" Mina gasped for air. After a few seconds she sat up and looked over towards Shoto, who was walking away. "You... are... so damn cold!" she grunted as she fell back down dramatically.

_

" _She put up a better fight than I thought_ ," Izuku mused, scribbling in his notebook. " _She must be able to make pretty strong acid! Realistically_ _though, Todoroki could've ended it at the beginning by pushing her with his ice instead of trapping her. And it would've been easy for him too! That was a_ huge _amount of ice!_ _I guess it might be harder to control the force that he hits her with at that range so he didn't use it to strike her until she was closer... But that just means that she really had no chance from the get-go. Unless... She would be able to use acid that can harden? Then she would've been able to immobilize him when she was on top of him. She probably would've discovered it by now if she could though, so I wouldn't–_ "

"Midoriya, do you want me to duct tape your mouth shut?" Hitoshi asked, turning to the green-haired boy.

"Ah, sorr–!" Izuku froze.

"Much better," he sighed, turning back around.

"Shinso!" Ochako nudged Izuku's arm and pouted at Hitoshi, "Don't do that!"

"Ah... I..." Izuku blinked a couple of times and turned to look at Ochako. "Thanks..."

"Yeah, for sure!" she smiled. "So, you're gonna be up against Todoroki in your next fight, huh?"

"Yeah..." Izuku sighed, looking down. Then he smiled up at her, "Well, I've had a good run this year. There's always next year's festival, right?"

"No, there's _this_ year's festival!" she pouted. "You gotta do your best and give it your all! Overcome the circumstances! That's what heroes do, right?"

"Yeah... Right, that's right!" he smiled genuinely again. "I'm gonna try my best to win!"

"Yeah!" Ochako pumped her fist, then Izuku joined her.

"Would Minoru Mineta and Hanta Sero please report to the preparation rooms for match five!" Midnight announced.

"Ah, I'm not gonna try to be too hard on him," Hanta said from a few rows back as he stood up and stretched. "I kinda feel bad for him after everything that happened."

"Don't just assume you'll win," Izuku called after him. "He's been working hard so he can get back into the hero course!"

Hanta smiled back, "The hero course hasn't exactly been letting us slack off, Midoriya. We've probably improved way more than him!" Then he turned and left.

"That's..." Izuku sighed, "probably not true at all..."

"Deku?" Ochako asked. "What is it?"

"What's Sero thinking?" he said as he turned back around. "Most of what we've been doing is regular exercise and then the occasional hero training... Plus we've only been here for a month! We've really learned almost nothing from class that could

help us here..."

"But we have practical experience!" Tenya said. "The attack on USJ was awful, but we became stronger because of it! That is something that Mineta doesn't have!"

"Still, Sero is overconfident," Izuku said. "He'll lose if he goes into this with that kind of attitude."

"Ya think so?" Ochako tilted her head.

"Hey Mina!" Toru exclaimed as the pink girl returned the stands. "Good job, you did really well!"

"He's cold," she said simply as she sat down and looked at the ground.

"Well, that's his Quirk..." Momo said.

"Not that," Mina sighed as she shook her head. "He's just cold."

Izuku glanced up as Shoto returned to his seat a few rows back. He thought back to their conversation.

' _He's just... Focused,_ ' he realized.

"SO COLD!" Mina shouted suddenly in frustration, shocking everyone in the immediate vicinity.

_

' _I got this... I've definitely got this!_ ' Minoru chanted mentally in preparation room A. _'Hanta Sero... If I remember right, he can shoot tape from his elbows. Kinda a coincidence that we both have sticky Quirks... But I have to prove that I've gotten better. I need to become a hero._ '

He stood up and stretched his arms above his head, before bending over on each side to crack his back. Then, after the intercom told him to, he made his way to the entrance tunnel.

"ALRIGHT! LET'S GET THIS GOIN!" Present Mic's voice echoed through the tunnel. "The first one up to the plate in match 5 is a General Education student! Actually, he _was_ in the hero course, but got swapped out for someone else in Gen Ed because his teacher's a major pain in the–!"

"Shut it, Mic," Aizawa groaned.

"Whatever, mummy man!" Present Mic laughed. "HERE'S THE KID, MINORU MINETA!"

When Minoru made his way out, he was met with a mediocre amount of applause. Still, he didn't let that discourage him and waved at the crowd.

"Next is a student who _stayed_ in the hero course!" Present Mic called. "He's got weird-looking elbows and a one-of-a-kind smile! Hanta Sero!"

"Weird-looking, huh?" Hanta grinned as he walked out with his hands in his pockets (to much more applause than Minoru). He took them out and bent down, smiling widely at his shorter opponent. "Well these elbows serve a purpose."

"Mineta, Sero, are you two ready?" Midnight asked. Hanta nodded, followed by Minoru. "Well then, round five will commence in three... two... one... BEGIN!"

Hanta immediately shot tape towards Minoru, who threw a ball on the ground and used it as a trampoline to jump to the side. Hanta aimed to follow him with his tape, and Minoru (for lack of a better way to phrase it) grabbed another one of his balls. He threw it to the side and hit the tape, knocking it out of the air and sticking it to the ground near one of the ring's edges. Hanta disconnected the tape that was now rendered useless by Minoru's ball and switched elbows. Minoru rolled under the next shot of tape (thanking the gods for his short stature as he did). He saw Hanta yank on the tape, but by the time it would've trapped him, Minoru had already bounced away with another ball he had put down.

' _He's trying to trap me in the tape to immobilize me, huh?_ ' Minoru thought as he landed. He looked to the piece of tape he stuck to the ground earlier and grinned. ' _That's a good idea..._ '

"Listen Mineta," Hanta sighed, still grinning. "I feel bad for you. Really, I do. But I mean, all you've done is dodge. You're gonna tire out sooner or later, and I haven't moved a single centimeter."

"What's that?" Minoru asked. "Trying to get me to throw the match or something?"

"Something like that," he shrugged.

Minoru popped off one of his balls before lobbing it at the Tape user, who lazily stepped to the side. The hero course student in question just shook his head and sighed, still never losing his smile, then fired another piece of tape. Minoru rolled to the side and hit the tape with one of his balls, condemning it to a long-term relationship with the cement ground. As Hanta went to switch elbows again, Minoru beat him to the punch by throwing a wide volley of his purple head spheres in his general direction. Hanta only had to sidestep a few of them, since it seemed like most of them missed their marks.

"You're that bad at throwing?" Hanta chuckled before shrugging again. "Maybe you don't belong in the hero course after all."

"Maybe," Minoru panted with a grin as blood trickled down his forehead.

When Hanta shot more tape, the short General Education student popped one more ball from his head and dove towards the end of the nearest piece of tape that was stuck to the ground. He attached the ball to the free end and threw it at Hanta before the hero-in-training could maneuver his current tape to wrap Minoru up. With barely any time to think of how to react to his own tape being thrown at him, Hanta took a couple of quick steps back only to step in something... squishy. He realized that he had stepped in one of Minoru's balls, and looked back to see that almost the entirety of the ring behind him was covered in the purple spheres. It wasn't just bad luck that he had stepped in one– he would've stepped in one no matter where he went.

"O-Oh, shit," he cursed as he realized that Minoru hadn't just been missing his shots earlier, then quickly bent down to remove his shoe.

But he was too late. The tape Minoru had thrown hit his shoulder. Then Minoru grabbed three other pieces of tape, anchored then down on one end with his Quirk, then threw them each around Hanta along with one final ball. They wrapped around him and the ball sealed the cocoon of tape.

"Hanta Sero, can you move?" Midnight asked.

"I–HNG!–I can't–GRR!" Hanta grunted as he struggled, before finally hanging his head and sighing, "No, I can't move..."

"The winner of round 5 is Minoru Mineta!" Midnight announced.

"Yes!" Minoru pumped both of his fists in the air and then looked up at the commentary booth. "HOW ABOUT THAT, AIZAWA SENSEI?!"

"Eraser! You kicked this kid out?!" Present Mic laughed. "Why'd you do that?"

"He wasn't nearly this creative with his Quirk before," he droned. "Getting kicked from the class obviously showed him that he needed to improve, and I'm glad he took the initiative. Not to be blunt, but it was probably the best way to motivate him."

_

"Deku, you were right!" Ochako exclaimed. "Sero lost!"

"He didn't take what I said into consideration at all," Izuku sighed. "But I don't really mind that Mineta won. I think he could make a great hero if he gets back into heroics, you know?"

"Yeah," Ochako nodded.

"His Quirk seems useful, and his strategy wasn't bad," Tenya said. "I'd have to agree with you, Midoriya."

"Hey! Bakugo!" Kyoko complained as Katsuki got up and pushed past her without paying her any mind. "Don't just shove past like that!"

"I'm going to the prep room," he said, ignoring similar complaints from Tsuyu, Fumikage, and Mashirao as he moved past their legs. "About fucking time I get to let off some steam."

"What's with him?" Mina asked.

"He's just amped up," Izuku said. "It's been a while since he's gotten to have a one-on-one match with someone, so he's probably frustrated that his turn wasn't earlier."

"Uh, what're they doing?" Ochako asked, pointing down at the ring.

The rest of the class looked and gawked when they saw that the ring was being taken apart. Any piece of cement with a ball on it was being completely removed. And Hanta was still standing in the middle as multiple employees tried to fix his sorry state. They had to use wire cutters to remove the tape that was trapping him, then he removed his stuck shoe. He left the field with two balls still stuck on his shirt, which had short pieces of tape hanging from them.

"I... think they can't get Mineta's balls off of the stage or Sero," Izuku said, getting a little chuckle out of Denki.

"Hey Jamming-whey, what're you laughing at?" Kyoka asked.

"Hehehe, he said balls," the blond teen snickered. "ACK!"

Kyoka jabbed the side of his head with one of her earphone jacks and shook her head with a sigh. "What are you, six?"

"Deku, what do you–" Ochako looked to Izuku and found him furiously muttering and scribbling in his notebook. Really, she wasn't even surprised anymore. With a poke, she said, "Hey Deku, you home?"

"Huh?" he looked up at her with wide eyes. "Did I do it again?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded with a smile. "What do you think they'll do about Sero?"

"Ah, well... Since they're removing the parts of the ring with the balls, I assume their adhesiveness is stronger than heavy machinery can handle. So all Sero can do is _very carefully_ remove his shirt and put another one on. Assuming their stickiness lasts a while, anyways."

"I guess so," Ochako said, before giggling, "I kinda feel bad for him."

"Yeah, I'd hate to be in his position," Izuku mused.

"Ahem," Midnight cleared her throat. "Please be aware that we are not postponing the next match. It will only take Cementoss a moment to fix this."

As she spoke, the last few spots of concrete that had balls stuck to them were chinked away. Then Cementoss walked up to the edge of the ring and placed his hands down on it, smoothing it out almost instantly.

"Alright! Now, with that done and out of the way, let's get these guys out here for match six!" Present Mic shouted. "First up is class 1-B's assassin! Every rose has its thorns, right? WELL HERE'S THE BEAUTIFUL BUT DEADLY IBARA SHIOZAKI!"

Ibara walked out and raised her hand, yelling, "Um, excuse me? I apologize for interrupting, but might I ask what you meant by assassin?"

"Um..." Present Mic seemed to be at a loss. "I- Uh, I was just, uh... I thought it'd be good commentary?"

"Well, I haven't come this far to hurt others," she frowned as she looked up. "I am here simply because I seek victory."

"I'm sorry!" Present Mic said quickly, and the crowd could almost hear him bow through the microphone.

"Woah, she seems nice!" Ochako said.

"A true example of an exemplar hero-in-training!" Tenya agreed.

"She's like the exact opposite of Kacchan," Izuku chuckled.

_

' _Is she really wasting time on shit like his phrasing_?' Katsuki thought, itching to walk out onto the ring. ' _Her Quirk is strong, judging from what I saw in the last round... Those damn vines are tough and can go underground. Plus they don't seem to be very flammable, considering I blew the fuck outta them earlier and they were unscathed. Good, I'd fucking kill her if she gave me a weak fight after all this damn waiting._ '

"Next up!" Present Mic finally called. "He's been something of a celebrity since getting caught by a villain in his middle school days! He's the guy with an explosive personality and a face that only a mother could love, KATSUKI BAKUGO!"

"OI!" Katsuki shouted as he walked out, loud enough to mostly silence the cheering audience. "THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT MY FACE?!"

"Uh... I completely messed up with the intros this round, didn't I?" Present Mic sighed.

"YEAH, YOU DID!" Katsuki screamed.

"Well, I'm sorry," he sighed again, before whispering under his breath, " _It's not like it wasn't accurate..._ "

"I HEARD THAT!" Katsuki shouted. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU LATER, PRESENT MIC!"

"WHAT?! I know I pressed the mute but–" the voice hero exclaimed before there was a click.

"Don't mind me," Aizawa sighed before there was another click.

"Bakugo," Ibara said, causing the blonde to snap his head toward her. "You have an awfully vulgar attitude and tongue... It's unbefitting of a hero." Her eyes hardened into a glare. "I'll have to remove you from the running."

"What..." Katsuki had a hard time processing what he had just heard. Him? Unfit to be a hero? "I'LL KILL YOU, VINE BITCH!" he shouted as his hands popped with explosions.

"Um..." Midnight didn't seem to know exactly what to do with the commentators gone. "Aside from Mic's nonsense and all that, are you two ready?"

"Fuck yes!" Katsuki grinned and chuckled slightly.

"I am prepared," Ibara said, clasping her hands in front of her chest.

"Alright then," Midnight nodded. "We'll begin in 3... 2... 1... START!"

Katsuki started just about how you'd expect: he blasted towards Ibara as fast as his explosions let him. She knelt down and her hair dug below ground, only to pop back up as a protective wall in between her and Katsuki as he let off an explosion. Katsuki blasted up and over the wall only for several vines to shoot up and trap him in midair.

"OI, CUT THIS SHIT OUT!" he shouted as he pulled and blasted at the vines.

"Truly vulgar," Ibara said with a shake of her head. "A hero should be graceful and reverent."

"Fuck you!" he said with a grunt as he finally blasted free of the vines.

He propelled himself straight down at Ibara, but the wall she made earlier broke apart into hundreds of vines that grabbed him again.

"Trying to hold me with these shitty things again?!" he glared at her.

"You may be able to break out of a few, but..." Ibara's vines surrounded and clamped down around Katsuki's whole body, like a cocoon. "Can you break out of that?"

The cocoon of vines landed on the ground, and the only part of Katsuki that wasn't covered was his face. He grunted and the entire vine entrapment vibrated as he let off explosions inside of it.

"Bakugo, can you escape?" Midnight asked.

"GIVE ME A SECOND GODDAMNIT!" he shouted. "Damn, these shitty vines are tough! FUCK IT!"

Finally, the entire cocoon expanded and blew apart with intense force. The blast left a smoldering crater and a pillar of smoke in its wake.

"You... are truthfully impressive in terms of power," Ibara said as her glare hardened. "All the more reason to stop you here."

"Fucking hell," Katsuki sighed as he stood up and patted himself down. There were holes in his shirt and pants, and his clothes were a little bit on fire before he snuffed it out with his hands. Wiping a bit of sweat from his brow, he grinned, "You're not just some extra, huh?"

"Extra? Is that how you refer to those weaker than yourself?"

"No, just the ones who are so weak that they don't matter," he smirked.

"All life matters," Ibara asserted. "It is the job of heroes to protect and nurture those who cannot protect themselves! If you believe that weak persons do not matter, then you are not only vulgar, but lacking in the basic principals of heroism!"

"Nah, real heroes are the ones who never lose... That way, they can beat the villains before even worrying about the damn extras!" Katsuki said with a grin as he stood up straight. "Listen up Vine Bitch, you should feel honored. I was planning on saving this for the endgame, but I really can't think of another way to end this any time soon. You're gonna see one of my best moves!"

"What are you–?"

Katsuki blasted straight up into the air until he was a good 30 meters high. Then he blasted straight down at Ibara. As he gained downward momentum, he angled his palms so that he began to spin. As he did so, his blasts created a flaming cyclone that followed him towards the Vines user.

"Oh no!" Ibara exclaimed as she brought up a massive wall of vines in front of her.

"See if those damn vines will help you against this!" Katsuki snarled as he brought up his right arm. When he reached the wall, he thrust it forward and shouted, "HOWITZER IMPACT!" as he let rip his strongest blast.

The whole stadium shook like it was the epicenter of a small earthquake. There was a huge firey blast that caused a black plume to rise up and left the arena shattered. One doesn't think of "shatter" when thinking of what can happen to cement, but it was about the best way to describe the massive amount of cracks going throughout the ring. Katsuki stood hunched over with his left hand on his knee, and his right arm hanging at his side as he panted. In front of him was the vine wall, still standing. Still standing, although there was a giant hole straight through the middle and the rest of it was charred and on fire.

"Finally," Katsuki panted. "It's on fucking fire..."

"Ugh," Midnight grunted as she stood up (she had been knocked back by the shockwave). "Um... Ibara Shiozaki is out of bounds! Katsuki Bakugo wins!"

Katsuki looked through the hole in the vines and saw his opponent sprawled out on the grass outside of the ring unconscious.

"YEEEAAAAH! I KNEW THIS GUY WOULD WIN!" Present Mic suddenly shouted after being absent from the rest of the match. "I mean, he's got a face that anybody would love, so who wouldn't root for him?!"

"F... FUCK YOU!!" Katsuki screamed as loud as he could.

_

"I... had no idea he could do that..." Izuku said, staring down at the ring with wide eyes along with most of the other students. "It... looks like it damaged his arm."

"That's so damn manly!" Eijiro said excitedly.

"I... Maybe I should stop calling Todoroki the strongest in class after all," Denki shuddered. "Bakugo might really kill me..."

"If he had something like that up his sleeve, he was probably saving it for when he needed it," Izuku muttered, taking out his pen and notebook again. "So her vines must be strong... _Now that I think about it, he had to try pretty hard to get out of her vines when she trapped him, and they didn't seem to be too flammable up until the end. I wonder if there's some threshold.._."

"It doesn't take much to set him off, huh?" Mina noted, already recovered from her loss against Shoto.

"Yeah," Toru agreed.

"I think it's impressive," Ochako giggled.

"It's weird," Denki said. "I'm starting to agree with Shinso that... Wait, is Shinso asleep?"

"Hm?" Ochako leaned past Izuku and saw Shinso laying across two seats with his eyes closed. "I... think he is."

_

 **Notes: Alright, there's that chapter. What a climax for a fight considering it's only the first tier of matches! Only fitting, as she's one of Class B's best.**

 **But I'm sorry again about Izuku vs Tenya. I think it was the most lackluster fight in this chapter, and I think it deserves better than what I did. But hey, the Sero vs Mineta fight turned out good!**

 **Anyways, next chapter will be Tsuyu vs Kaminari and Ochako vs Kirishima at least. Probably pushing into the territory of Momo vs Monoma. So I hope I can do better going forwards.**

 **As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	15. The Sports Festival's Continuation

**Hey, welcome back to the story that I promise I'm focusing on more than my others! We jumped up to 930 favorites since last time** **, which is the highest increase I've ever had between chapters! Same with the follows! We're at 1.2k now! I mean, I know this fic will only ever get more popular or level out, but it's still really cool to see it happen! Thanks a ton!**

 **And now onto reviews!**

 **Madgeer: Well I wasn't planning on doing it this week, but I decided you won't have to wait any longer. ;)**

 **moonstar31548: There is a canon explanation as to where Izuku keeps his notebook (he's shown taking it out in manga chapter 35), but I won't say it here because I kinda want to save it for a funny reveal in this fic. Because I think it's hilarious where he keeps it.**

 **LucklessBlock86: There are a couple of reasons I'm probably not doing that. First, Ochako and Izuku would have to meet in the finals in order to have that fight. And second, anything Ochako makes weightless, including herself or Izuku, would only allow Izuku to have limited and full control over it. Really, it's like paper beating rock. He just covers all of the bases in terms of countering her.**

 **Cementoss' Laws: Yeah, concrete does "crack" and "break", but I meant "shatter" as in similarly to a windshield, being completely covered in cracks.** **Maybe poor diction on my part.**

 **PleaseCallMeOut: Don't be scared for the froggo! Have no fear, because *All Might reference*. I'd say it's easy for Deku to control multiple objects in small amounts, but his number limit goes down depending on the weight of the objects. Yes, if Monoma were to create something with Momo's Quirk, he could very well use up too many lipids and pass out. It's not like he has fat deposits like she does.**

 **Ander Arias: Yeah, that win was a bit telegraphed I suppose. I'll work on that. The fact that you brought up Momo being the only girl who's won so far made me way too self-conscious about it. It didn't change the outcomes of the matches, but now I'm worried that people think I'm sexist or something. That wasn't even on my mind before lol**

 **Jack Redhawke: Well, I gave All Might a larger time limit at first because it's stupid that overusing it during the slime villain incident didn't lower it at all, let alone the _almost full year_ that passed after that. Maybe should've been 4 instead? Idk, but I'll stand by that pointless decision. And the USJ incident happened on the third day of school, or fourth if you count the orientation day.**

 **btn29: Thanks for checking my fic out! Means a lot from a fellow author to hear that you like it.**

 **And to all of the encouraging or otherwise helpful comments, thank you!**

 **Before jumping into this chapter, I wanted to tell you guys about another fic. I've already brought up Viridescent and Torchbearer, but this one's a little different. While Torchbearer is around the same as this one in terms of popularity (or at least used to be? it feels so weird to have such a following on this story) and Viridescent is literally the biggest MHA story on this site, this one's a lesser known and _waayyy_ underrated fic.**

 **It's called _A New Way Forward_ , and it's written by ElMexicanoAmericano. It's a month younger than my fic** **, but it doesn't even have 100 followers! What's up with that? It's one of my favorite fics because the writer isn't scared to throw big curve balls at us readers, and it's full of original ideas and expands on some of the ideas from canon. I recommend that you at least try it out. It isn't for everyone, and is definitely a bit more of a mature story (not because of sex), so if you're interested in that, then go give it a look-see!**

 **Okay, now finally! The chapter! I was debating whether I should put a certain part in this chapter or leave it for the next one since this chapter would've been long enough without it, buuuut... It got in here**

 _I do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _The Sports Festival's Continuation_

"What happened to the ring?" Hanta asked as he returned, wearing a white t-shirt and still only one shoe.

"Bakugo made a huge explosion!" Toru exclaimed excitedly. "It was all like, 'boom!', and then it went 'wah!' and we could feel the heat and the shockwave went 'woosh!' right over us!"

"Um... Right..." Hanta stared at the invisible girl for a second.

"Were they not able to get Mineta's spheres off of your shirt?" Momo asked to fill the silence.

"No, those things apparently just stay stuck for a while," he sighed and shrugged. "I'm more upset about my shoe than my shirt though."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been so overconfident," Izuku said. "I pretty much told you that this would happen."

"Well, I guess so," he chuckled. "Ah well, I was still able to show myself to the pros for a round."

Hanta turned and made his way back up to his seat. Izuku turned down to look at the field again, where Ibara was being taken away via stretcher and Cementoss was flattening the ring again.

"Well, now that that excitement is out of the way," Midnight announced with a sigh, "would Tsuyu Asui and Denki Kaminari please report to their preparation rooms?"

"Alright, I'm up!" Denki said with a grin as he hopped up. "Ooh, I'm pumped up!"

"Good luck, Kaminari, kero," Tsuyu croaked as she walked by.

"You too Tsuyu!" Kaminari walked out of his row of seats before heading to his prep room.

"Hey Deku," Ochako asked as she turned to Izuku, "who do you think will win?"

"Well, Kaminari is pretty much a human stun gun," Izuku sighed. "Asui can't touch him without being zapped, and if she hangs back he can use his indiscriminate shock ability. I... don't know if there's a way she can win."

"Maybe," Ochako said. "Also, call her Tsuyu."

"I... It's gonna take a while to get used to that," Izuku chuckled.

"It's been a month already Deku," Ochako noted. "Plus, she's been telling us to call her Tsuyu since day one of class."

"Yeah," he looked away and scratched his cheek. "I really have no excuse."

"I think it is perfectly understandable," Tenya offered. "It is improper to refer to others by their given names unless you are particularly close, so I believe Midoriya's preference to call her by her surname shows that he is polite by nature."

"Thanks Iida," Izuku sighed.

"I don't get what the issue is," Eijiro said from behind them. "What's the big deal about calling her Tsuyu?"

"I like Tsuyu way better than Asui anyways," Mina said with a bright smile. "It sounds super cute!"

"It does," Ochako nodded in agreement.

"Oh, and Midori," Mina said, "I think you're wrong about Tsuyu losing. Gotta believe in girl power!"

"But you lost, didn't you Mina?" Toru asked.

"Aww, but I knew I'd lose going into it," Mina lazily waved her hand.

"What exactly does that have to do with girl power?" Kyoka asked from behind.

"Ah, you know," Mina giggled.

"... No, I don't..." she sighed.

"Shouldn't Bakugo be back by now?" Momo asked as she looked around.

"It looked like he hurt his arm with that huge blast," Izuku said. "He's probably checking with Recovery Girl."

"That makes sense," the Creation user mused.

"I don't really mind if he doesn't come back for a little bit," Toru said. "His bad mood really ruins the vibe around here, y'know?"

"I know, right?" Ochako agreed with a firm nod.

"I kinda disagree with you guys," Mina said. "It's kinda exciting! You never know what'll set him off!"

"How's that a good thing?!" Ochako exclaimed.

"I mean, he's got some temper issues," Eijiro said with a thought, "but he's pretty manly, you gotta admit!"

"Doesn't he keep hitting you and Jamming-Whey on the head?" Kyoka asked.

"Yeah, but I don't mind!" Eijiro grinned.

"But Kaminari's thick skull isn't exactly as literal as yours is..." She giggled, "You know what? I actually might like Bakugo a bit because of that. It's always funny seeing Jamming-Whey get clubbed."

"Hmm... A sadist?" Mina mused.

"Huh?" Kyoka looked down at the pink girl.

"Oh, nevermind," she smiled.

"All right!!" Present Mic's voice filled the stadium once again. "Let's get match seven started! This girl's definitely got the composure of someone who's lived through just about everything life has to offer! Although, she's really an absolute animal! Give it up for Tsuyu Asui from 1-A!"

"Was that introduction really any better than Shiozaki's or Kacchan's?" Izuku chuckled.

"At least he didn't call her ugly," Ochako chuckled. "And he's technically not wrong."

Once Tsuyu was out, Mic continued, "The next contestant is also from 1-A! _Woah, there are a lot of people from 1-A, huh?_ You could say that this guy has the spark of greatness in his eyes! Denki Kaminari!"

"Greatness?" Kyoka, Mina, Eijiro and Ochako asked in unison.

_

' _Damn right I have the spark of greatness!_ ' Denki chuckled to himself. ' _Man, Present Mic! What a guy!_ '

Denki walked out onto the ring and made eye contact with Tsuyu, who was staring at him blankly. Actually, kinda creepy...

' _Man, why was I matched with her? She's too off-putting, plus I'm not one to beat up on girls... Well it's not too bad. Since she isn't really my type, I won't feel_ too _bad about it._ '

"Are you two prepared?" Midnight asked.

"Yeah," Denki nodded.

"Kero," Tsuyu said.

The frog girl began waving her arm back and forth, which kinda weirded him out, but Denki decided she was probably just nervous.

"Begin!" Midnight announced.

"I'll finish this in an instant," Denki called as he enveloped himself with lightning. "I hope this doesn't hurt too long before you lose consciousness! 1.3 MILLION VOLTS!–"

_

"–INDISCRIMINATE CHARGE!" he yelled as the lightning began shooting out from him.

It was a predictable move–if a stupid one–for the blonde to make, in Tsuyu's opinion. She swiped her arm forward, and the poisonous secretion she had been building up flew out in-between her and the yellow flash. Tsuyu's secretions conducted electricity fairly well, so the charge stopped there and never reached her.

"... Whey..!" Denki exclaimed cheerfully as he put out his hands in thumbs-ups.

Tsuyu shook her head slightly as she wrapped her tongue around his waist and tossed him out onto the grass outside of the ring.

"Denki Kaminari is out of bounds! Tsuyu Asui wins!" Midnight announced.

_

"IT'S ALREADY OVER FOLKS!" Present Mic announced. "I repeat: it's already over!"

"Go Tsuyu!" Ochako cheered.

"YEEAH TSUYU! GIRL POWER!" Mina yelled.

"Woohoo!" Tooru cheered alongside her.

"What the _hell_?" Hitoshi groaned, putting a hand on his head as he sat back up.

"Shinso, you're awake?" Eijiro asked. "What got you up?"

"A lot of high-pitched cheers," he muttered as he rubbed his temples.

"That woke you up but Bakugo's huge explosion didn't?"

"... What explosion?" Hitoshi asked.

"Uh–"

"More importantly, Midoriya..." The mind controller turned to the green-haired boy who was furiously muttering again and writing hurriedly in his notebook.

" _I had no idea she could secrete a liquid! I suppose I never really asked the specifics about her Quirk, but assuming all of her abilities are frog based, that opens up a lot of possibilities! There are poisonous frogs, frogs who can camouflage themselves into their environment, I'm pretty sure some kind of night vision is standard-issue, and I really don't know too much about frogs... And it's really lucky that her secretion can conduct electricity so well! There's no way Kaminari–_!"

" _MIDORIYA_. I will hurt you," Hitoshi deadpanned.

"Eh... Oh, you're awake," Izuku noted.

"Yeah, now can you shut up?"

Izuku didn't reply that time.

"Oi, did Dunce Face lose?" Katsuki asked as he walked back to the stands.

"Oh, hey Kacchan!" Izuku was the first to greet him, but then noticed that his arm was wrapped in bandages. "Oh, how's your arm?"

"Fucking fine, nerd!" he shouted before walking back to his seat. "That vine bitch didn't do shit to me!"

"Hey, don't just call other people names like 'Vine Bitch'," Kyoka grumbled.

"Yeah, it's pretty rude," Toru agreed.

"Oh yeah? Anyone who's so sensitive that they care about that shit isn't gonna be able to handle the shit that comes with being a hero!"

"Well, he's right," Eijiro said. "Gotta have thick skin, you know? Ahaha! But, it _is_ kinda excessive, Bakugo..."

"What's that, Shitty Hair?" Katsuki raised an eyebrow. "You wanna go?"

"Sorry, but get in line!" the hardening hero-in-training laughed. "I've gotta beat Uraraka and then Tsuyu first before I fight you!"

"Oh yeah! The next match is you and Ochako!" Mina exclaimed, before turning forward and putting her hands on Ochako's shoulders. "Girl, do me proud!"

"Ashido, c'mon," Eijiro sighed. "Are you really gonna root against me?"

"No way Kiri!" she smiled brightly at him. "I want you to do me proud too!"

"Then who are you rooting for?" Toru asked.

"Hmm... Can't say! I want em both to win!"

"That's not how it works, Ashido," Momo sighed.

"That doesn't mean I can't want it to," Mina pouted.

_

"Ochako Uraraka and Eijiro Kirishima!" Midnight called, getting Ochako's attention. "Please come down to the preparation rooms!"

"Alright!" she said as she jumped up. "I'm off!"

"Good luck Uraraka! You can do it!" Deku grinned with a thumbs-up.

"Ehe, yep!" she returned the thumbs-up.

"I also wish you well in your match, Uraraka!" Tenya agreed.

"Thanks guys!" Ochako smiled as she made her way to the tunnel next to the stands.

"Hey Uraraka!" Eijiro walked down next to her. "I won't be holding back just cause you're a girl, you know."

"I'd beat you bad if you do," she giggled.

When they reached the hallway where they needed to go their seperate ways, Eijiro held out his fist and said, "Good luck!"

"Yeah, you too!" she smiled and met his fist with her own.

As Ochako walked to Prep Room A, she saw and congratulated Tsuyu on her win. It wasn't a very long exchange however, since Tsuyu was bringing Denki back to the stands by using her tongue like a leash. As she resumed her walk, Ochako smiled to herself. _You can do it!_ That's what Deku had said to her, right? It's the same as what she said about his nickname, back before they started going to U.A.

' _Deku..._ ' she sighed internally. ' _Yeah! I can do this! If he's behind me, then I've got this!_ '

She smiled with renewed resolve, and she entered the prep room. She didn't feel that she had much to prepare, so she spent the time calming herself down and hydrating. Eventually though, Aizawa's voice droned over the intercom for her to proceed to the entrance tunnel.

"Alright!" Present Mic's voice echoed down the corridor. "We've already had some exciting matches in this first tier of the tournament, but this is the last of the set! Match number eight! The first student to come out is a girl who's definitely out of this world! The one with the powers of gravity in her side, Class 1-A's Ochako Uraraka!"

Ochako steeled herself and walked out into the stadium's center. The roar of the crowd was intimidating, but everyone else had faced it... Deku already faced it and won, so she had to do her best as well. To face it, and accomplish her dream of becoming a successful hero and supporting her parents. She needed to do well and get recommendations with good pro heroes to reach that dream as quickly as possible.

"The other contestant is the guy with thick enough skin to tough out just about anything! Also from 1-A, Eijiro Kirishima!"

"Hey Uraraka!" he waved with a smile as he walked up. "You ready?"

"You bet!" she said with her own smile as she pumped her fist. ' _He's not nervous at all..._ ' "How about you?"

"For sure!" he grinned his toothy grin.

"Are the contestants ready?" Midnight asked.

"Yup!" Eijiro confirmed as he raised his arms.

Ochako looked up and saw everyone in 1-A cheering. Mina, Kyoka, Toru (okay, she didn't really _see_ her, perse), Tenya... and Deku.

She turned to Midnight with a smile, confirming, "I'm ready!"

"Then let match eight begin in 3... 2... 1... START!!"

Ochako started out by rushing at Eijiro, and he did the same. All she needed to do was get all five of her fingers on him... That was all she needed, but he knew that too. She reached out for him, but apparently he saw it coming as he repositioned his arms and grabbed her wrists. Ochako couldn't break from his grip, so she planted one foot on his chest, pulled with her arms as hard as she could, and raised her other leg to kick him in the chin.

He was able to activate his hardening at the last second, so her kick really did no damage (aside from hurting herself), but he was surprised enough that he slightly weakened his grip on her right arm. She kicked off of his chest, freeing her one arm, and landed shakily. Eijiro lifted her up by the left arm, which he still had a hold on, and began the motion to throw her out of bounds, but she was able to grab his wrist with her free hand.

When he let go, she kept her hold on him, and as she flipped and landed on her feet, he also flipped upwards. She heaved him over her shoulder towards the edge, but the redhead was able to throw his arm down and imbed his hardened hand into the cement, stopping him from going out of bounds. He pulled himself down so that he was kneeling on the ground, held only by the hand that was inside of the ring.

"Whew, man," Eijiro panted as he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "I lost gravity already, huh?"

"You're holding yourself to the ground!" Ochako said with wide eyes.

"Yeah, can't let a little weightlessness catch me off guard!" he chuckled. "But I really wasn't expecting that throw reversal. Pretty manly!"

"You're pretty manly yourself," Ochako said, now having recovered some breath. "But one of us has got to win!"

She ran at him, but he pushed up at her from the ground. Ochako wasn't quite quick enough, and he grabbed her shoulder as he passed and pulled from behind. It was enough to ground him, and as he kept his grip, he reeled back his other hand for a punch. But now, Ochako reached back and grabbed the punching arm before it hit her with one hand, while she gripped the arm on her shoulder with her other hand. She pushed with the momentum of his swing, and was able to wrench him away from her shoulder before swinging him over her head and slamming his back onto the ring. Then she took his weightless body and, instead of throwing it along the ground, threw it upwards outside of the ring, where she released her Quirk and let him fall out of bounds.

"Eijiro Kirishima is out of bounds! Ochako Uraraka wins!" Midnight announced.

The crowd exploded with cheers, and Ochako almost flinched at it. She was so in the zone that she had almost forgotten that they were fighting in front of so many people. She blushed and nervously waved at the crowd, then her eyes wandered up to find Deku and Tenya cheering for her. That prompted her smile to widen and she pumped her fist at them.

_

"Yeah Uraraka!" Izuku cheered down at her. "She did it!"

"Yeah, girl power!" Mina shouted.

"Please, do not show favoritism among fellow 1-A students!" Tenya said. "Especially you, Midoriya, as the class's vice president!"

"Ah, well, I can't really help it," Izuku chucked as he scratched his cheek. "Iida, you can't tell me that you didn't root for Uraraka."

"I'd never verbally root against a classmate, even if they're against another one," he firmly stated.

"I didn't root _against_ him, but I'm glad Uraraka won," Izuku shrugged.

"Well, I'm kinda upset that they were paired together in the first place," Mina said. "Like I said, I wanted both of them to move forward."

"But girl power! Right?!" Toru cheered.

"Yeah!" Mina said with a wide grin.

"And that concludes the first tier of matches in this tournament!" Midnight announced before cracking her whip up towards the big screen. "Here are the four matches in the quarterfinals!"

 _Match 1: Momo Yaoyorozu VS Neito Monoma_

 _Match 2: Izuku Midoriya VS Shoto Todoroki_

 _Match 3:_ _Minoru Mineta VS Katsuki Bakugo_

 _Match 4: Tsuyu Asui VS Ochako Uraraka_

Izuku glanced up at Shoto, who was looking straight at the field, before turning back around with a sigh.

"Shit," Denki, who was mostly recovered from his fried brain, sighed. "I know Sero said he felt sorry for Mineta before their round, but... I _actually_ feel sorry for him now. Go easy on him?" he requested as he looked up at Katsuki.

"If that fucker wants to be in the hero course, he should get a good idea of the competition," the explosive blonde grinned with a hint of a chuckle. "He lost that test in the beginning of the year for a reason."

"Dude..." Denki chuckled.

"Neito Monoma..." Momo mused. "That blond one... I didn't get a chance to see his Quirk in action, and he didn't use it in his match against Hatsume..."

"I never saw him use it either," Izuku said. "I wonder what it is... Did anyone here see him use it?"

"He took my headband from behind, so he didn't even have to use it," Toru sighed.

"Be ready for anything, Yaoyorozu!" Tenya advised. "It's something that all heroes should be!"

"Momo Yaoyorozu and Neito Monoma!" Midnight called. "Please go to the preparation rooms!"

"Well, I'm off!" Momo said with a smile. "Wish me luck!"

"You don't need luck!" Toru said.

"You've got girl power!" Mina finished for her.

"... Right..." Momo chuckled slightly as she left.

"... Think we're pushing this thing too far?" Mina asked.

"No way!" Toru exclaimed.

"Yeah," Kyoka said at the same time.

"Probably, Kero," Tsuyu agreed with Kyoka.

"But girls!" Toru gasped at them. "We gotta stick together!"

_

"And then that slam was really manly!" Eijiro exclaimed as they walked towards the stands.

"Kirishima, you already said that," Ochako replied.

"Well, what about that throw at the end? Now _that_ was manly!"

"... That's the third time you said that one."

"Well, what about how you made me weightless in the middle of my throw?" he asked.

"Um... You haven't said anything about that one," Ochako said, trying to remember what had already been said.

"Well that was _super_ manly!"

"Thanks," she laughed as she scratched the back of her head. "You're really enthusiastic, Kirishima."

"Uraraka, congratulations!" Tenya said as soon as they exited the corridor, before quickly adding, "Kirishima, my condolences for your loss!"

"What loss? It's not like anyone died!" the macho man laughed.

"True! I am glad you are not taking this loss poorly!"

"I mean, it's more than most other people got to show," he shrugged.

"I suppose you're correct," Tenya said.

While that exchange was going on, Ochako moved back to her seat, where she received "good job"s from Deku, Mina, and Toru.

"So Yaomomo's up against that blond guy?" she asked.

"Yeah," Deku nodded. "We don't know what his Quirk is though."

Ochako confirmed her understanding with a nod, but in her mind she thought, ' _If Deku doesn't already know that guy's Quirk, then he'll probably take notes on it... He doesn't have his notebook out right now, so he'll have to take it out from wherever he's keeping it. This is my opportunity to see where!_ '

"The first contestant for match one of the quarterfinals is 1-A's Momo Yaoyorozu!" Present Mic announced.

"No witty introduction?" Aizawa asked as Momo walked out.

"I already introduced these guys, mummy man! I charge extra for seconds!" Mic laughed. "Anyways, the other competitor is Neito Monoma of 1-B!"

Ochako's eyes stayed firmly on Deku as she waited for him to grab his notebook, not being distracted by the announcers' banter or the students that walked out onto the ring.

"What is it, Uraraka?" Deku asked, turning to see her staring at him.

"Ah sorry, it's nothin'!" she said quickly, looking back down at the field with a definite blush. When she glanced back at him though, he was already holding the notebook out with his pen.

_

"Hm..." Neito eyed Momo with a grin. "You can create things, isn't that right, 1-A president?"

"And what can you do?" Momo responded.

"Tsk tsk tsk... That's need to know only, sweetie."

Midnight raised her whip. "Alright, the match shall begin in 3... 2... 1... START!!" She brought it down with a crack.

Momo began in the same way she had with Tetsutetsu; jumping back to allow herself the time to make her tools. But Neito was faster than his fellow 1-B student, having a lighter frame, and was able to get to Momo and grab her wrist.

"Great!" he exclaimed as he jumped back.

Momo was clearly confused as to why the blonde had run and grabbed her just to retreat again, but shook it off and finished creating a staff and shield for herself.

"Alright, uh, how do you work this thing?" Neito asked as he swung his arms back and forth. "Just like... Gimme a stick! No?"

"... What are you doing?" Momo asked.

"How the hell does your Quirk work?!" he shouted.

"Why would you need to know that?"

"No reason!" he said indignantly.

"... What is your Quirk?" Momo tilted her head.

"Nevermind!" he announced. "I'm not helping someone from 1-A, and I don't need your help either. If I can't use your Quirk, I'll just knock you out myself!"

He screamed and ran at her, but she smacked him in the face once with her staff, putting him off-balance, and he tripped and fell out of bounds behind her.

"Neito Monoma is out of bounds! Momo Yaoyorozu wins!"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Present Mic yelled. "MONOMA JUST FLAILED HIS ARMS AND GOT KNOCKED OUT!"

"Um, Monoma," Momo extended a hand to help him up. "Good match?"

"Get away!" he slapped her hand away. "You think you're better than me? HUH?! I'm as good as anyone from 1-A, even better!" he laughed almost hysterically.

"What is your Quirk?" she asked again.

"I don't need your help," he said as he walked away.

_

"So he can copy other Quirks?" Izuku repeated what Itsuka Kendo had told him, his head raised up above the partition between their classes.

"Yes, that's what I said," she nodded. "But why wasn't he able to copy her creation, I wonder?"

"Yaoyorozu said that she needs to know an object's make-up in order to create it," Izuku explained. "And they're made from the lipids in her body, so even if Monoma knew what an object was made of, he probably wouldn't be able to make it unless he loaded up on junk food."

"Ah, I see," Itsuka hit her first into her palm. "So it was just a bad match-up for him, huh?"

"Yeah, guess so, Izuku nodded. He waved and said, "Anyways, thanks for the info!" before dropping back down and walking past Shinso to return to his seat.

"What'd they say?" Ochako asked when he sat down.

"He has the ability to copy other people's Quirks," Izuku said. "It just didn't work because of how Yoayorozu needs knowledge of an object before creating it."

"Copying Quirks?" she asked. "How's that work?"

"Apparently, he just needs to touch someone and he'll have their power for five minutes."

"That's cool and all, but that fight was _so lame_ ," Mina sighed disappointedly.

"But Momo won, right?" Toru said.

"I guess so," Mina pouted as she crossed her arms.

"Ashido, if you wanna see a cool match, then the next one is probably gonna be one of the coolest of the day!"

"Next is..." Mina's eyes widened as she gasped in realization. "MIDORI! GIVE TODOROKI A GOOD HIT FOR ME!"

"Uh, right," he chuckled uncomfortably. "I am up next, I guess."

"Listen Deku," Ochako said as she put a hand on his shoulder. "You got this! Alright?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I can do it."

"Yuh-huh!" she smiled. "You've got this totally in the bag!"

"That's an overstatement," he laughed. "But, I can do this."

"Yeah!" she continued encouraging him.

"Midori," Mina said as she grabbed his shoulder and leaned down next to him. "You gotta beat him, alright?"

"I'm, uh, gonna do my best..." he smiled awkwardly as he leaned away.

"H-Hey, Mina–" Ochako started before being cut off.

"Izuku Midoriya and Shoto Todoroki, please report to the preparation rooms!" Midnight announced.

"I guess I should go," Izuku said as he stood up.

"Good luck Deku!"

"You get him Midori!"

"Yeah, thanks!" he smiled at Ochako and Mina before walking down to the hallway.

"So Ochako," Mina whispered. "What were you gonna say before Midnight called for them?"

"Hm?" Ochako tilted her head.

"You know, when I put my hands on Midori and leaned in real close to him," she grinned.

"A-Ah, nothing," Ochako looked away.

"Eh? Are you sure you weren't gonna tell me to back off of _your_ _Deku_?" Mina rested her hands on Ochako's shoulders. That prompted the Zero Gravity user to look back at her, exposing the pink blush on her face. Seeing the skin tone, Mina exclaimed "OH MY GOSH! WE'RE TWINSIES!"

"S-Shut uuup!" Ochako whined as she clapped her hands on her cheeks and turned away again.

"Hm? Are you okay, Uraraka?" Tenya asked from beside her after noticing her red face. "Do you have a fever or something?"

"I'm fine," she sighed as she slumped forward.

_

"Oh, there you are," a gruff voice caught Izuku's attention while he was headed for the entrance tunnel.

"Endeavor?!" he exclaimed as he turned to face the large man. "Uh, why are you looking for me?"

"Your Quirk is... an interesting one," he said. "My Shoto... He has a duty to become a hero even greater than All Might."

"Oh yeah, you're Todoroki's father," Izuku said, narrowing his eyes.

"I am," he nodded. "I think you may have a good chance at pushing him to the edge of his abilities. You, then that Bakugo boy... So I want you to put up as good of a fight as you can, so that he sees the need to use all of the tools at his disposal. Sorry if I'm a bit blunt, but that was all I had to say."

"Wait," Izuku said as Endeavor turned to leave. "Your son has no 'duty' to surpass anyone. And for the record, even if he does surpass All Might, he won't be the number one hero. _I_ will."

Izuku turned to leave before Endeavor could respond, and walked to the entrance tunnel. Then, it was only a couple of minutes before he was called out.

"The first student out onto the ring is 1-A's Izuku Midoriya!" Present Mic announced.

Izuku walked out, the crowd's roar swelling as he did so. He glanced up at the stands where all of his friends were cheering.

' _Mom's watching this from home, huh_ ,' he realized. ' _I'll try to make her proud... and maybe try not to worry her too much._ '

"The next one to come out onto the ring is Shoto Todoroki!"

Shoto walked out with his eyes down at the ground and his hands in his pockets. When he did look up, his face looked bored and uncaring. He stopped and stared Izuku down.

"Todoroki, I won't hand this match to you just because you have a sob story," Izuku said firmly, though his phrasing seemed to catch the heterochromatic teen off-guard. "We all have aspirations, and I have an obligation to follow mine through."

"You never had a choice whether you'd win or lose," Todoroki said. "Sorry about your 'aspirations'."

"Are you ready?" Midnight asked.

"Yes," Izuku said as Shoto wordlessly nodded.

"Alright then. Match two of tier two starts in 3... 2... 1... START!!"

Shoto, big surprise, opened by shooting a huge wave of ice out at Izuku. The telekinetic hero-in-training was prepared, using his Quirk on himself to fly up and over the wave before it could grow to full size.

He landed on the downward slope and started sliding towards Shoto. Along the way, he kicked back and forth to knock off multiple jagged protrusions of ice, ending up with 8 decent shards that were falling with him by the time he was halfway down. He used his Telekinesis to launch six of them at Shoto, who brought up a shell of ice in front of him to block them (although they still had enough force to stab into and crack the shield).

Shoto pushed his right foot past the shell of ice and sent another wave up at Izuku, who was still sliding down his previous one and had two shards of ice in his arsenal. Instead of having to use his Quirk on himself for a second time, Izuku was able to shift the momentum from his slide as he planted his feet and jumped out over the new ice wave. Not only did he have enough momentum to clear the wave, but he was heading straight for Shoto.

When Izuku came down, he slammed his leg onto the ice shell, which had already been weakened by the ice shards he had launched, causing it to break in two. Shoto's eyes widened in surprise and Izuku fired one of his two remaining shards down at Shoto's left side. Shoto couldn't use ice with his left side, so he dove to the right and was able to escape with only a hole in his sleeve and a scrape on his arm. He shot a stream of ice at Izuku as soon as he righted himself, and the green teen wasn't able to avoid it as it encased him.

' _Shit, my whole body is cold!_ ' Izuku thought, before covering himself with the glow of his Quirk and breaking out.

He picked up the shattered remains of his short-lived ice prison with his Quirk and brought them up into the air around Shoto. He fired them all down at him, but the heterochromatic teen made a sphere of ice around himself as a shield. The shield stopped the attacks, but was also broken from the force itself.

Izuku and Shoto stared at each other, panting, as they both waited for the other to make a move. Shoto's right side was covered in patches of ice, he had a cut on his left, and he was visibly shivering. Izuku showed no visible damage and was holding his side where he felt the sharp pain of overusing his Quirk on himself. The air felt still and dense, and was cold because of the all of the ice.

"You're not looking so hot, Todoroki," Izuku said with a grin.

"You aren't doing so good yourself," Shoto replied.

"But at least that's not my own choice," Izuku shot back. "You could easily warm up by using your fire, right?"

"We already had this talk, Midoriya," Shoto said firmly. "You know my reasons."

"Yeah, I do," Izuku said. "And I thought about it, and... It's a pretty shitty reason."

"What did you just say?" There was an edge to Shoto's words as he asked.

"I'm tired, Todoroki, because you're good enough to tire me out. But you aren't hurt just because I'm good enough to hurt you. You're hurt because you're _choosing_ to handicap yourself. I'm putting everything I have into winning this tournament, and you're half-assing it like nobody's business!"

"I'm using all of my mother's power," Shoto growled. "That's all I can give this fight!"

"No it's not!" Izuku was yelling now. "What the hell are you even saying?! Your mother's power? Your father's power? It's not theirs! What the hell is Endeavor gonna do, come and say he needs it back?! It's _your_ power, you moron!"

"You don't understand!" Shoto insisted. "What these powers mean, what they represent... It'll never go away!"

"I _DO_ UNDERSTAND!" Izuku yelled, causing Shoto to flinch. "... For the last 10 years of my life before coming to U.A., I handicapped myself. I stopped myself from using my power out of spite, and I let my whole world be controlled by one asshole. I understand what it's like, but... While it's true that the past can't change, it's also true that you can never get rid of your Quirk. And the only way to ever improve is to accept that. My past hasn't changed, but I decided to put all of my effort into everything in my life. Even where I was holding back before. I'll make something good out of it, even if it used to be something bad." Izuku glanced up at the stands and saw his friends. He made eye contact with Katsuki, who was scowling deeply as he watched.

"Midoriya," Shoto called, bringing his attention back to their fight. Steam was rising off of Shoto as well as the melting ice all around them, and flames sparked to life on the boy's left side. "You could've won, but you just had to be honorable about it..." He looked up at Izuku with a wild grin as the flames rose.

"Who says I won't win anyway?" Izuku chuckled as he got into a stance to start running.

"Midoriya... I'll give you everything I've got!"

"Do it!"

Izuku could hear Endeavor off to the side encouraging Shoto, but given the expression on his opponent's face, it wasn't interfering in their fight. It was just Izuku, Shoto, and the line around the ring.

And then they ran at each other. More accurately, Izuku ran at Shoto while the Half-Hot Half-Cold user became a flaming missile.

' _Not ideal,_ ' Izuku thought as they were about to collide, ' _but I got this!_ '

As Shoto let rip a blast of fire at him, Izuku used his Quirk on himself to dodge to the left (Shoto's right), and as he passed, he rolled his hip as far up as he could before using his Telekinesis to fire his leg at Shoto's midsection. He felt a crunch, which was unfortunately probably one or two of Shoto's ribs, before something he didn't expect happened. The air where Shoto had fired his blast, which had previously been cold and dense, rapidly rose in temperature, which caused it to expand at such a pace that it became an explosion. The shockwave blew both Izuku and Shoto towards the edge of the ring, but Izuku used his Quirk to halt himself barely at the edge, while Shoto landed somewhat limply on the grass.

"HOOLLY SH–" Present Mic was cut off.

"This is being aired nationally, Mic," Aizawa reminded him.

The crowd erupted with cheers, and Izuku suddenly realized that he was, in fact, not in a flaming whirlwind of destruction. Though the smell of something burning still filled his nose. He looked up at Ochako and Tenya, who seemed more concerned than happy, although he couldn't think why.

"What the hell is with you kids?!" Midnight shouted as she got up after being knocked over by the shockwave.

"Sorry," Izuku chucked before letting out a pained grunt and collapsing onto one knee, clutching his side.

"Oh and kid, your hair is on fire," she giggled.

"Wha–?!" Izuku swatted at his head to get rid of the flames. So _that's_ what was burning.

Midnight reclaimed her position on the referee's pedestal, before clearing her throat and announcing, "ANYWAYS, Shoto Todoroki is out of bounds! Izuku Midoriya wins!"

_

 **Notes: And that's how Deku defeated Todoroki!** **I'm pretty sure it's the longest fight so far in the tournament, and deservedly so. I hope you guys enjoyed that!**

 **That being said, I'm painfully aware that we are closing in on 1k favorites and will probably reach it before the next chapter. For 1k follows I wrote the Mineta bonus chapter, and I want to do stuff that you guys want for 1k favorites. So give me some suggestions! Whether it's an idea for a bonus chapter or a bit for the next main chapter, I'd like to hear from you! As long as it's not where Deku is keeping his notebook!**

 **Anyways, the next fight is Bakugo vs Mineta... That'll be a real gift. Considering the fact that we got through 4 matches in this chapter, there should only be 2 more chapters in the sports festival. Which feels odd... but time marches on! As does this story! So, as always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**

 **(Side note, unrelated to this story: Some of you may have noticed that I published a new story since I posted this one's last chapter called _Active Pheromones_. How the hell does a story like that get 300 follows and 200 favorites in a single week?! Seriously? Is it because a lot of people came from here, or is that simply the power of smut?)**


	16. Bonus Chapter 3

**We did it** **! We hit 1k favorites! I wanted to thank all of you with this special bonus chapter! Well, I _did_ ask for some suggestions on what to do at the end of the last chapter, but I didn't receive a single suggestion from y'all. So here, have this. It's literally just the Deku vs Shoto fight from Ochako's perspective. And of course, everything is better when written from Ochako's perspective!**

 _I_ _do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _Bonus Chapter_

 _Deku's On Fire!_

"Oh, I hope Deku wins!" Ochako said as she nervously clenched her fists. Below the students, on the field, Deku and Shoto were staring each other down.

"I do too," Mina agreed. "Todoroki needs to get knocked down a peg."

Ochako still hadn't gotten over Mina's earlier comments. She shrunk down at her encouragement of the greenette, unsure what was or wasn't supposed to be teasing her anymore.

"Please, try to be indifferent when it comes to competitions between classmates like this," Tenya reminded them.

"But Iida..." Ochako sighed.

"Hey Yaomomo!" Toru exclaimed at the 1-A president as she returned to her seat from her match. "Congrats on winning!"

"You have once again done well to represent our class, Yaoyorozu!" Tenya hand-chopped.

"Yeah, good job!" Ochako said as she looked back and smiled. "Even though that guy was a total pushover in the end, ehe..."

"I never even got to see what his Quirk was," Momo sighed.

Ochako spoke up, "Oh, Deku said it was–"

" _BEGIN!!_ " Midnight yelled, and the Zero Gravity user snapped her attention back down to the ring.

Ochako felt a momentary panic as Shoto fired a glacier towards Deku, but was soon enough able to see him fly up and over it.

"Yeah Deku!" she shouted.

The boy in question broke some of the ice apart as he slid down and threw the pieces at Shoto, who defended himself with an ice shield before launching a second blast of ice up the glacier at Deku. The green teen was easily able to jump over it and then kicked down to break Shoto's defenses.

"Yeah Deku!" Ochako pumped her fist as he grazed Shoto with another ice shard.

The heterochrome teen jumped back and shot some ice at his opponent, quickly cocooning him in it. It was only a moment though before Deku broke free and made the broken pieces of ice surround Shoto.

"Oh, all that ice floating looks pretty!" Toru commented.

"Yeah, and dangerous!" Mina exclaimed enthusiastically. "NAIL HIM MIDORI!"

Deku shot the ice at Shoto simultaneously from all sides, but the recommended student was able to bring an ice dome up around himself for protection. The dome itself didn't survive the impact, though it successfully served it's purpose.

"So close!" Ochako punched the air.

"Uraraka, try not to play favorites so openly," Tenya scolded. "It's not encouraging to our other classmates to know that we'll be rooting for Midoriya if push comes to shove!"

"Aha! You said 'we'!" she exclaimed, turning to the bespectacled teen. "So you _are_ rooting for him!"

"I won't admit such things verbally," he said firmly with a subtle nod as he adjusted his glasses.

"What're they doing?" Toru asked. "Are they just talking?"

Ochako looked down to see that, yes, it appeared that the two combatants were having some sort of heated conversation. She strained to hear anything, but the distance and cheering of the crowd drowned out even any muffled voices that they might normally be able to hear. But then, Deku stopped talking and looked up at them with a determined expression. Not specifically at her or Tenya that she could tell, but in their general direction. Then out of nowhere, a spout of flames exploded from Shoto's left side.

"He's using his flames!" Tenya exclaimed.

"I didn't know he even had flames!" Ochako said, wide-eyed.

"TODO WAS HOLDING BACK AGAINST ME THAT MUCH?!" Mina exclaimed. "I'M GONNA KILL HIM!"

"Ashido!" Tenya started, before–

"SSHHOOTTOOOO!!!" a gruff voice shouted almost at Present Mic's volume.

"Woah, looks like the number 2 hero Endeavor has got some encouragement for his son!" Present Mic (speak of the devil) exclaimed. "Gee, it's like he's a doting parent or something!"

Ochako looked to see, of course, Endeavor walking down to the front of the stands as he continued shouting, "Have you finally accepted yourself?! Finally accepted reality?! It's finally time to realize your potential, Shoto! With my blood coursing through you, FULFILL MY AMBITIONS!!!"

"What's he talking about?" Ochako tilted her head.

"I have no idea," Mina and Toru said simultaneously.

Then, the fire raging around Shoto noticeably shifted, recalling their attention to the ring. He fired himself at Deku with incredible speed as Deku resigned himself to running towards his opponent. Then, Deku surrounded himself with his trademark green glow before ducking out of the way of Shoto's fire and landing a huge kick to his abdomen.

"OH MY–" Ochako and Mina screamed before there was a sudden shockwave of heat that rose up to meet them.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!" Present Mic voiced the thoughts of most of the crowd.

"All of the chilled air was suddenly heated, so it expanded in an equally sudden manner," Aizawa said, still somehow calm.

"So... that's what is was..." Toru panted, clutching at her chest. "My heart... is going so fast!"

"M-Mine too!" Mina agreed.

"That was unexpectedly intense," Momo said, sounding a bit calmer than the other students.

"I'll have to scold them for being so reckless!" Tenya said.

"But..." Ochako, for her part, was trying to see into the cloud of dust and debris that was kicked up by the shockwave, until she saw Shoto hit the ground outside of the ring.

"HOLY SH–" Mic began to exclaim.

Aizawa interrupted, "This is being aired nationally, Mic."

The dust cleared enough so that Ochako saw Deku standing barely within the ring's confines. She would've started screaming with joy right then if it hadn't been for the fact that the right side of his P.E. uniform was partially _burned away_ , which revealed that his skin was _covered in red burns_ , and that wasn't even _mentioning_ the fact that–

"DEKU'S ON FIRE!!!" Ochako screamed as she looked down at the field with wide eyes.

As she exclaimed that, the whole stadium erupted in cheers for him. She kept staring worriedly down at him, even as he looked up at them and smiled as if he was perfectly okay.

"M-Midori doesn't even notice!" Mina gasped.

"It's possible the adrenaline is covering the sensation," Momo hypothesized.

Suddenly Deku collapsed and clutched his side, and it looked like the toll of his last move was making itself known. Midnight let him know that his hair was flaming, which he quickly patted away once he knew, before announcing that he had won the match since Shoto was out of bounds. Medical bots brought two stretchers down soon enough to take both of them to see Recovery Girl.

"I-I'm gonna go see 'im!" Ochako exclaimed as she stood up and made her way past Tenya.

"I'll come with you Uraraka!" he said, standing up and following her.

"Me too!" Mina said.

"I'll come too, kero," Tsuyu croaked.

"Wait, you never told me what Monoma's Quirk is!" Momo called, but didn't leave her seat to follow. Toru, the reliable girl she was, told the class president what Deku had said earlier.

"Hey Uraraka, wait!" Tenya called. " _Don't run in the hallways_!"

But Ochako decidedly didn't wait as she made her way to the infirmary at a quick pace.

_

 **Notes: Again, thanks so much for all of your support! I was thinking, with the movie out and whatnot, what do you guys think about me including it in this story once we get there? I mean, _is_ canon after all. Either way, we won't have to worry about that part of the story for a while, so it's not too urgent to think about at the moment. One more time, thanks a ton for 1k favorites! As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next video!**


	17. The Sports Festival Still Continues

**Alright, how's it going guys? I feel like it's been so long since I posted a new chapter even though it really hasn't been. Maybe my life's just gotten busier and that's why...** **Oh well. Review time!**

 **Mrotrax: I LIKE YOUR ENTHUSIASM!**

 **SeanPennname: "If given the time to enact it," yeah.**

 **ElMexicanoAmericano: Of course, you deserve it!**

 **ThFlash: Well, a conductor isn't just a magnifier for charge. What it does is attract the charge to it because it can easily flow inside of it. Plus, the entire point of Denki's conductive disks later on is that the electrical charge will hit them instead of going all over, so yes, it does work that way.**

 **Random-Cliche-Name: I am neither consistent nor knowledgeable of such things! But I'll defend it by saying that Deku wanted to conserve stamina. Bam, I'm immune to criticism now.**

 **bigrig56: I mean yeah, but I've seen similar ones with less attention.**

 **Humming Brook: Glad you picked up on that. It'll be addressed in this chapter partially.**

 **Jedimike21: I was planning on revealing it in a certain scene, but some things changed and that isn't exactly gonna happen. I'll try to answer you next chapter!**

 **Ander Arias: Yeah, you're right about that. And I've started reading your Naruto fic btw. It might be a good few months before I catch up though because holy shit you wrote a lot!**

 **Logic Soldier: Pshhh, agree to disagree.**

 **TheKwertyOne: No, there are plenty of examples where Ochako got sick from using her Quirk on other things than herself (plus it's literally in her Quirk's official description). And I don't know about Eraserhead having that secondary power, since _*manga spoiler*_ can use the capture scarf too.**

 **demarmotoojeda: I really enjoyed the movie myself. And I actually got the idea to include it later from another fic that did it *ahem, the end of the AN*.**

 **Brankinhovich.sama: Glad to have had that influence on you getting into fanfics! And the results of the festival won't affect whether Izuku gets OFA.**

 **DarkFireCat5241999: There are actually 2 arcs before the movie (internship and final exams).**

 **Alright, so I'm thinking of adding a chapterly segment where I talk about fics I'm currently into or think need more attention. I've already shouted out a few, but I wanted to know how y'all feel about it.**

 **The story shout out of this chapter is called _Redemption_ , and it's by Starstorm2112-2. There are grammar mistakes, but it's a great story past that. It stars an OOC Izuku and it's definitely currently in my top five reads atm in terms of fun. Give it a try if you want!**

 **So I'm a bit disappointed in this chapter, but that may just be because the last one was absolutely insane in terms of hype. But this chapter _was_ necessary for the story's progression forwards. Still not bad, just a step down I think. Anyways, hope you enjoy!**

 _I do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _The Sports_ _Festival Still_ _Continues_

"Thanks... Recovery Girl..." Izuku muttered as he wiped his face.

"Yeah, whatever," the youthful heroine sighed and shook her head. "You really did a number on Todoroki you know, not that he didn't hurt you too."

"Ahaha, yeah," Izuku laughed as he scratched the back of his head (the damn hair was still burnt, that part hadn't healed) and glanced at Shoto, who was occupying the bed next to him. "Sorry about that, Todoroki."

"It's fine," the heterochrome said.

In the last exchange of the match, Shoto had managed to hit him with some of his fire. At the time Izuku had only realized that his hair had gotten burnt, but in reality he suffered a few third-degree burns on his right side. He didn't feel it, probably because of the adrenaline, but the damage was now clear as he lay down, exhausted from the healing and overuse of his own Quirk.

Shoto had gotten three broken ribs and the cut on his arm, and he was about as tired from the healing as Izuku was. Although he was being pretty quiet about it at the moment.

"DEKU!!" Ochako yelled as she burst into the room. "ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"Be quiet! I have people resting here!" Recovery Girl huffed at her.

"S-Sorry!" she whispered. "But Deku, you were on fire! A-And I mean that in both ways!"

"Uraraka, don't run in the halls!" Tenya scolded as he walked in behind her.

"Midori, you beat him!" Mina exclaimed as she came in next. Upon seeing Shoto lying down, she scowled and made her way to his bedside. "And you! How dare you humiliate me by holding back like that!"

"I... am sorry?" he asked more than said. "It's not really that... simple."

"ALL OF YOU!" Recovery Girl shouted as she bonked Mina, Ochako, and even Tenya with the cane. "Either shut it or get out! This is an _infirmary_!"

"I apologize Recovery Girl," Tenya said quickly with a bow. "We'll all be mindful of the setting."

"Good," she said with a strong nod. Then, pointing her cane at Mina and Ochako, she said, "And I expect you girls to do the same!"

"R-Right!" Ochako said with a small bow.

"Hmph, fine," Mina pouted as she crossed her arms.

"S-So, Deku," Ochako said, turning to the greenette and speaking much more quietly, "how are you feeling?"

"Tired," he said with a smile. "But other than that, I'm fine."

"Good, I was worried," Ochako sighed in relief. "And you were really cool y'know! How you fought, I mean!"

"Yeah, you were dodging even better than you did in the battle trial a month ago!" Mina praised.

"Ah, well, I mean," he scratched his neck with a chuckle. "I only won because Todoroki is an idiot, honestly."

"MIDORIYA–"

"Quiet," Recovery Girl shot Tenya down before he could even start.

"He's right," Shoto said. "I think, anyways... I have a lot of things to think about actually."

"Oh... Well, alright then," Tenya said.

"Not that you weren't a bit too blunt, Midoriya," Shoto clarified. "But still, thanks."

"I kinda couldn't think of another way at the time," Izuku said. "So, sorry."

"No need to apologize."

"Oh God, get a room," Mina sighed with an eye roll.

"This _is_ our room right now though," Shoto said with a tilt of his head.

"I... Wait, you're right," Mina said with wide eyes.

"Anyways, you guys should be out there watching the next match," Izuku said as he looked back to the three guests. "Plus, Uraraka, your match is after Kacchan's. So go on, I'll be fine."

"Yeah, okay," she nodded. "I just wanted to check up on you. I'll go back now."

"I'll also go," Tenya said, "to support my classmate!" before he turned around and quickly walked out.

"Bye– Oh, he's gone," Izuku sighed. "Oh well. I'll see you later, Uraraka."

"Yeah, bye Deku," she smiled at him before turning and leaving.

"I'm leaving too, byyyeeee," Mina said as she left with Ochako.

"They're colorful," Recovery Girl said.

"Especially Mina," Shoto said. When he received questioning glances from Recovery Girl and Izuku, he explained, "She's pink."

_

' _OH MY GOD!_ ' Minoru screamed in his head. ' _Bakugo is the super strong violent one! Why do I have to fight him? WHY DID SHIOZAKI HAVE TO LOSE TO HIM?!_ '

" _Minoru Mineta, please make your way to the entrance tunnel_ ," the voice of Aizawa said over the intercom.

' _Should I just give up? No! A hero never gives up!_ ' He mentally argued as he made his way through the hallway. ' _The guy who always sticks it out to the end, even in impossible situations... That's the hero in most popular manga, right? Man, being the hero is taxing on my willpower! But I've gotta show them that I can stand in there with the best!_ '

He reached the tunnel to walk out onto the field and took one more deep breath to calm himself. He was resolved: he wouldn't give up, even if he knew he'd lose. Even if his safety had to be sacrificed.

"Alright! Let's begin the next match!" Present Mic shouted. "The last match was exciting, but this one might be too! Minoru Mineta, the Hero Course turned Gen Ed student who beat a Hero Course student last round, come on out!"

Minoru steeled his expression and walked out. The crowd's cheering was louder this time, which made him feel kind of proud, but he ignored it in favor of focusing on his quickly approaching match.

"Next up is Katsuki Bakugo! Please, can neither one of you destroy the ring this time?! GREAT!"

"Oi, Purple Midget!" Katsuki called as he stepped up. "You want to be in the hero course, right?"

"Yeah," he confirmed with a grin. "Blond dick!"

"Fuck you!" Katsuki snarled. "You're getting too excited! I'm gonna enjoy knocking you down a peg!"

"You're the one on a high horse here!" Minoru called back.

"Are both contestants ready?" Midnight asked.

"Yes!" Minoru yelled.

"Yeah!" Katsuki roared.

"Then begin in 3... 2... 2... START!"

Minoru had a plan. It involved using his balls as small trampolines to outmaneuver Katsuki, and trying to throw them and hit the blonde's hands to essentially disable his Quirk. But no matter how well it would've worked, there was no way he could've dodged as Katsuki fired at him in the blink of an eye and–

_

 **BOOM**

The infirmary shook and Izuku thought that it might've been an earthquake for a moment. But then he remembered that it was Katsuki's match.

" _Woah, Mineta just got hit right in the face and was instantly knocked out!_ " Present Mic's commentary was played through the intercom.

"Well, at least Kacchan didn't torture him for the length of a whole match," Izuku mused.

"Mm," Shoto nodded in agreement, but said nothing more.

Izuku looked over and saw that his dual-Quirked classmate was staring out of the window. He was obviously lost in thought. Well, he _did_ say that he had to think about some things earlier.

"Todoroki," Izuku said, getting the boy's attention. "What is it?"

"I used my fire," Shoto said simply. "Despite everything that happened, everything I'd decided, you got me to do it. But even after giving up all that, I still lost..."

"Todoroki, when was the last time you used your fire?"

"Today."

"I meant before today smartass!" Izuku exclaimed.

"... Eight years, maybe more," he sighed.

"Quirks are physical attributes, just like muscles. If you're eight years out of practice, of course it won't be as strong as it can be. You may have a stronger Quirk than others, but you still need to practice to be able to use it."

"I guess you might be right."

"Of course I am. That's why I said it, after all," Izuku chuckled. "So you'll train to get stronger?"

"I don't know if I want to," Shoto said, surprising Izuku. "I only let go of my resolve because, in that moment, I forgot about my father. I can't just do that in the future."

"Is there any way–?"

"I know what I have to do, so don't worry about that," Shoto said. "I... just have to prepare myself."

"Alright," Izuku smiled at him. "I'll be holding you to that."

"Thanks... Midoriya," Shoto smiled barely noticeably before turning back around and looking out the window again.

"You two are both cleared to go now," Recovery Girl said. "Or you can stay, at least unless I'll need more space for patients."

"Alright, I need to see Uraraka's match!" Izuku beamed as he got up to go. "Todoroki, you coming?"

"Not quite yet," he said. "But I'll be there to watch your match, Midoriya."

"I'll be counting on it," he grinned before walking out.

Izuku passed medical robots that were carrying Minoru's burnt and unconscious form to the infirmary while he was on his way to the stands and sighed at Katsuki's apparent inability to hold back. He was up at the stands soon enough though, just in time to see Ochako and Tsuyu off.

"Both of you, good luck on your match!" he smiled at them as they walked past him.

"Thanks! Good to see you up and around Deku!" Ochako said as she waved.

"Glad you're fine Midoriya, kero," Tsuyu said simply as she followed the gravity girl.

"Midoriya, welcome back!" Tenya greeted. "You didn't miss much! Mineta was knocked out instantly by a single explosion before he could even move!"

"... Sounds like Kacchan," he chuckled as he went to sit down.

"Oh, I don't know if I want Ochako or Tsuyu to win!" Toru sighed.

"I know, right?" Mina agreed. "Well, whoever can do better against Bakugo, I guess."

"That'd be... Tsu?" Toru asked.

"I dunno, Ochako's smart!" Mina said. "I do think Tsuyu would have a better chance though. What do you think, Midori?"

"Against Kacchan... Tsuyu would probably have a better chance because she's more agile and can maybe use her tongue to attack while keeping her body out of harm's way," he mused. "But in this match, I don't know who will win. Tsuyu is probably quick enough to avoid Uraraka's fingers while she can get attacks in. But unless that fluid she secretes can do actual damage on its own, they're still both essentially close-range fighters."

"Okay," Mina nodded while smiling at him. "You said way more than you needed to, but okay!"

_

Ochako was waiting to get called out. After winning her first match with Eijiro, she was now more prepared to walk out than the last time. She was nervous to be fighting Tsuyu, who had become a pretty good friend in the month that they'd been at school, but she was definitely ready.

"ALRIGHT! Let's get this match GOOOIIING!" Present Mic yelled. "First out into the ring is TSUYU ASUI!" _(Time passed)._ "And next is OCHAKO URARAKA!"

Ochako walked out and looked across at the frog girl, who was giving her a wide smile. She smiled right back.

"Good luck Ochako," Tsuyu said, "kero."

"Good luck to you too Tsuyu," she replied.

"You girls ready?" Midnight asked.

"Yep," Ochako nodded.

"Kero," Tsuyu also nodded.

"Alright then! 3... 2... 1... START!!"

Tsuyu jumped at Ochako immediately, but before she reached her she jumped to the side and around. She landed a kick on her back and then backed away as Ochako whirled around to get a hand on her.

' _Hit and run tactics, huh?_ ' Ochako thought as she ran at Tsuyu. ' _Won't work forever!_ '

Tsuyu jumped over her and wrapped her tongue around Ochako's wrist as she did. She yanked the arm back with her tongue before Ochako could get her other hand on it, and used it to throw her across the ring.

Ochako slid to a stop at the edge and looked up to see Tsuyu already upon her. She pushed up and reached with her hands to grab her, but Tsuyu grabbed both of her arms by the wrists and held them up before moving to throw her out of bounds.

Which she did, and Ochako hit the grass with a grunt before rolling onto her back.

"Ochako Uraraka is out of bounds! Tsuyu Asui wins!" Midnight called out.

"Good job, kero," Tsuyu said as she offered Ochako a hand up.

"C-Congratulations," she sighed as she accepted it and stood up. Then, punching the air, she exclaimed, "Man! If only I could've grabbed you!"

"I know, that was the entire point of my strategy," Tsuyu said. "Kero."

"The matches for the semifinal round have been set!" Midnight called attention to the large screen once again.

 _Match 1: Momo Yaoyorozu VS Izuku Midoriya_

 _Match 2: Katsuki Bakugo VS_ _Tsuyu Asui_

_

" _Like I thought, Asu-er-Tsuyu's agility let her get around Uraraka's hands_ ," Izuku muttered. " _I was holding out hope, but Uraraka wouldn't realistically have been able to grab her without more hand-to-hand combat experience_..."

"See?" Mina said to Toru. "I told you it's totally mutual!"

"Totally mutual!" Toru repeated, excitedly pumping her arms.

"What're you two going on about?" Denki asked.

"Nothing that you'd be interested in," Mina said.

"Yeah, girl stuff!" Toru backed her up.

"Like what, gossip?" Eijiro asked.

"You could say that," Mina grinned.

"Hey girls, mind letting me in on this?" Kyoka asked, leaning down next to Mina.

"I'd also like to hear," Momo said. "N-Not because I'm interested in gossip, but I c-can't trust you all to keep secrets without my help! Obviously!"

"Alright, Kyoka, plug your earphone jack into the chair while I tell Yaomomo," Toru suggested.

"Alright," Kyoka nodded before plugging in.

"Alright, so," Toru leaned towards Momo and lowered her voice, " _Midori and Ochako totally like each other!_ "

"I-I can't believe you're spreading such private information!" Momo announced. "But... is it true?"

"I mean, it makes sense if you think about it," Kyoka mused. "But I'm not interested in relationships, so I don't really care."

"Oh, you're talking about relationships?" Eijiro asked. "Yeah, it's not my thing."

"Wait, are you talking about Midoriya and Uraraka?" Denki asked.

"KAMINA–"

"Did you say my name?" Izuku asked.

"NO!" Mina and Toru yelled.

"A-Alright, geez," he mumbled, turning back around.

"Jamming-Whey, have some awareness," Kyoka said as she jabbed him in the head with her jack and pumped his head with a beat of her heart.

"Anyways, isn't it so cute?" Toru asked. "OH! We should totally help them get together!"

"I'd rather see them do it on their own though," Mina said. "Unless they _really_ drag their feet about it."

"Momo Yaoyorozu, Izuku Midoriya, you're up next!" Midnight called. "Make your ways to the preperation rooms!"

"Oh, guess we should get going," Izuku said as he got up. "Good luck Yaoyorozu."

"To you as well Midoriya," she said with a smile.

Shortly after they left, Tsuyu came back alone.

"Tsuyu, shouldn't Ochako be with you?" Toru asked.

"She said she had to take a phone call, kero," the frog girl replied.

"Great!" Mina cheered. "So, don't tell this to anyone! It's a girls-only secret!"

"And apparently Kaminari," Kyoka sighed.

"I also heard, but I'll keep shut!" Eijiro said with a grin.

"... Will he?" Toru asked.

"Yeah, he's the reliable kind of guy," Mina said. "Anyways, about that secret..."

_

"Hey Dad," Ochako greeted as she entered the prep room.

" _Hey, how're ya doin baby girl?_ " he asked excitedly.

"I'm good," she replied as she sat on the bench. "Got a bruise or two, but I'm fine."

" _Your mother and I saw the whole thing on television! We're so proud of you Ochako!_ "

"Thanks Dad," she said with a smile. "I wish I made it farther, but it's better than other people did."

" _What are you talking about sweetheart? You made it to the final round of the U.A. sports festival! That's plenty more than anyone else I know can do!_ "

"But it would've been better if I won more than one match in the tournament round," she said. "The pro heroes request interns based on our performances in the festival. Getting an internship with a good hero will get me some publicity and experience, so when I do go pro I'll be able to get enough money to fulfill my promise quicker–"

" _Ochako, don't fret so much over us,_ " he laughed. " _We're fine, honest. And even if business gets bad sometimes, we have enough to hold us together._ "

"Daddy," she sighed, putting her hand on her forehead. "I'll keep my promise, okay?"

" _Fine,_ " he relented. " _But take your time! I'm_ _sure you'd rather spend some time with that boy of yours, haha!_ "

"And I– Wait, boy? W-What boy?! T-T-THERE'S NO BOY!" she exclaimed.

" _That green haired one who carried you in the first round, wasn't he that Midoriya kid who you said saved you during the entrance exam?_ "

"U-Uh, yeah, that was Deku," she confirmed, now regretting multiple decisions over the past month (including telling her parents that Deku had saved her). "B-But it's not like that!"

" _C'mon, really?_ " he sighed. " _Don't you like him_?"

"N-No, I don't!"

" _Come on Chako, be honest with your old man,_ " he chuckled. " _You even call him by a special nickname!_ "

"S-So what if I do?" she sighed exasperatedly. "Ya know what? Even if I _do_ , that's not as important as helping you and Mom. I need to focus on my hero training to achieve my dream and help you."

" _I'm sure he'd support you in your dream if you were together!_ "

"Dad, I'm not arguing with you about this," she insisted.

" _I bet he'd say yes if you asked him ou–_ "

"I'm hanging up!"

" _Oh, fine_ ," he laughed again. " _I love you Ochako. And try not to get so focused that you don't have fun, okay?_ "

"Okay," she sighed. "I love you too Dad, and say hi to Mom for me!"

" _Ahaha, will do! Bye Ochako_."

"Bye Dad," she said before hanging up.

Not two seconds later, the door to the prep room opened to reveal–speak of the devil–Deku. Ochako's eyes widened as she recalled what her father had said a moment ago, but she quickly mentally punched herself.

"Hey Uraraka," he said as he walked in. "What are you doing in here?"

"I-I was just talking with my dad on the phone," she said, looking down at the phone in her hands. "He said he saw me on TV. And he's proud. Y'know, parent stuff."

"Right," Deku nodded. "Well, you had a good match against Asu– _Tsuyu_."

"Yeah," Ochako nodded with a small giggle at his self-correction. "I wish I won, but I was able to show myself to the pros enough. And besides, I don't mind losing to a friend like Tsuyu."

"Yeah, I can see that," he chuckled.

" _Yaoyorozu, Midoriya, get to the entrance tunnels_ ," Aizawa sighed over the intercom.

"S-Sorry, I took all your prep time," Ochako scratched her cheek with a giggle.

"It's fine, but I guess I'd better go," Deku said as he turned to open the door.

"Deku," Ochako called, prompting him to stop and turn back. "I know Mina was saying all that stuff about girl power earlier, but... you'd better beat Yaomomo and make it to the finals, okay?"

"Yeah, sure thing," he smiled and nodded, a determined look covering his face. "I'll win!"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I'll be watching and cheering for you!"

"Thanks," he nodded before walking out.

Ochako sighed when he left, immensely glad that he had walked in _after_ the call.

' _God, what am I doing with my life?_ ' she thought as she buried her face in her hands. ' _I should go up to the stands so I can watch the match_ ,' she realized before standing up and hurrying out.

_

' _I_ _wonder why they were talking about me..._ ' Izuku thought as he reached the entrance tunnel. He didn't _mean_ to eavesdrop, but he heard Ochako talking when he got to the prep room's door and decided to let her finish before he entered. ' _Oh_ _well, I'll ignore it. Gotta focus on my match._ '

"LET'S START THE SEMIFINALS! The first student out is 1-A's president, Momo Yaoyorozu!" Present Mic called, getting applause. After a second, he called, "And next, funnily enough, is 1-A's vice president, Izuku Midoriya!"

Izuku walked out and looked up at the stands. Shoto was sitting in his seat already, and Ochako ran out of the corridor to find her seat soon enough as well. Once she had, he returned his focus to the ring and Momo.

"Midoriya, good luck," Momo said as she readied herself.

"You too," he said.

"Alright, you're both ready?" Midnight asked.

"Yes," they said simultaneously.

"Then let the match begin in 3... 2... 1... START!!"

Momo started by making strange boots that could apparently anchor her to the ground between steps. Not that Izuku could've picked her up and thrown her out of bounds so easily unless she let him, but it was still a sound strategy.

Izuku jumped at her, but she made a shield to block his punch (which he dented). Then he jumped away and pulled her shield with him using his Quirk before throwing it at her. She rolled out of the anchoring boots to avoid it and remade a new pair as soon as she was upright again, then made what appeared to be some kind of wrist-mounted weapon on her right arm.

Momo started running at him, though slower than she normally would be able to because of the boots. Izuku jumped and suspended himself in midair for a second to kick her, but she caught it in her left hand and created a pair of rubber handcuffs that bound them together. She shoved him to the ground and jabbed him with the wrist-mounted weapon, which was apparently a taser as it sent an electric shock through his body.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Izuku yelled as he instinctively shot his free foot up and smashed it across Momo's jaw.

He stood up and tried to drag the class president to the edge of the ring with the help of his Quirk, but she grabbed his ankle and tripped him just short of it. Not that he was making good headway anyways while his body was still reeling from the taser. Then, since he was close enough to the edge, he used his Quirk to spin his body around on the ground, and he pulled her around with him until she was dragged across the boundary line.

"Momo Yaoyorozu is out of bounds! Izuku Midoriya wins and progresses to the final match!" Midnight announced with a crack of her whip.

"W-What?" Momo asked. "I... lost..."

"Hah... Good match Yaoyorozu," Izuku panted. "Can you unlock the cuffs?"

"Uh, yes," she said with a nod as she created a key and unlocked them.

"Is your jaw okay?" he asked. "Sorry, I hit you pretty hard."

"I-It's just a bit sore," she smiled. "Nothing a trip to Recovery Girl won't fix. Besides, I should have guessed you'd react violently to an electric charge. Sorry about that, by the way."

"Yeah, it's fine," he sighed, laying down flat on his back. "I just need a second."

_

"Is he okay?" Ochako asked as the group looked down at Izuku on the field. Momo had walked off a few minutes earlier.

"I dunno," Toru said. "He refused the medical robots."

"He's fine," Hitoshi sighed. "He's just a little dazed from the electric shock."

"Mm?" Mina tilted her head. "How do you know that?"

"Isn't it the exact same thing that happens to Kamari?" he raised an eyebrow.

"It's _KAMINARI_ ," Denki said. "And yeah, he's right. Midoriya just needs a second."

"He's getting up!" Tenya said. "Thank goodness!"

Sure enough, Izuku was now making his way off of the field. He was walking fairly slowly though.

"H-He still doesn't look too good," Ochako said worriedly.

" _Worried about him_?" Mina whispered in Ochako's ear.

"YEAH I AM, OKAY MINA?!" she shouted at the pinkette.

"Owowow! My ears!" Mina whined as she sat back in her seat.

"Mina! Are you okay?!" Toru asked.

"Honestly, that's what you get," Kyoka said with a small shrug.

"Shut up," Hitoshi sighed.

"Katsuki Bakugo, Tsuyu Asui, you're up next!" Midnight called. "Please make your ways to the prep rooms."

"Good luck Bakugo," Tsuyu croaked to the blonde.

"I DON'T FUCKING NEED IT!" Katsuki yelled as he followed her into the hallway. "GOOD LUCK YOURSELF, FROG FACE!"

"Oh my God, he wished her good luck in the most aggressive way ever!" Toru burst out laughing. "It's kinda adorable!"

"I wholly disagree," Ochako said firmly.

"Why _do_ you hate him so much?" Mina asked. "I mean, he's loud and obnoxious and kinda looks more like a villain than a hero most of the time, but he doesn't seem like _that_ bad a guy."

"It's..." Ochako's shoulders slumped. She couldn't tell them what she knew–what Deku and his mother had each told her in confidence. So what could she say outside of flat out lying? "... I don't think he deserves to be a hero."

"What?!" Toru exclaimed. "Why not?!"

"Yeah, his Quirk is built for it!" Mina agreed.

"What, did he say something particularly offensive?" Eijiro asked.

"No, it's not that," she sighed. "I'm sorry for saying anything, I can't talk about it."

"Eh? Why not?" Denki asked.

"When someone knows some info that they can't share, it's called a secret," Mina informed him.

"No shit," the blonde said. "Why is it a secret though?"

"It's not my secret to tell," Ochako sighed. "Sorry, can't say anything else."

"It's fine Uraraka!" Tenya said. "We will all respect your privacy!"

"Well fine then," Mina pouted. "Let's _not_ talk about Bakugo then. Hmm... How about–"

"Hey Deku!" Ochako greeted the greenette as he shuffled to the stands.

"Hey Uraraka," he sighed as he sat down.

"Hey hey, what's wrong?" Mina poked his head.

"I still feel tingly," he said.

"Bakugo's fighting Tsuyu next," Ochako said. "Who do–"

"Kacchan," he muttered as he gripped the arm rests tightly enough to make his knuckles white.

"... You okay?" Ochako asked.

"Still tingly," he responded. He looked like he was shivering.

"Where's Yaomomo?" Toru asked. "She left the field before you."

"Oh, she wanted Recovery Girl to check her jaw," Izuku said. "She should be here soon."

"I'm already back," Momo said as she sat down, holding an ice pack to her cheek. "And I'm fine."

"Good," Izuku sighed. "Sorry again."

"Really, don't worry about it," she waved her hand.

"Hey Deku," Ochako said, "I didn't realize it until now, but you fought both of the students that got into our class through recommendation."

"Yeah, guess so," he said.

"... Deku, you okay?"

"Hm? Fine, why?"

"You don't seem fine," Ochako tilted her head.

"I'm just nervous," he smiled at her. "You know, I didn't think I'd make it to the last round. And on top of that..."

"Bakugo?" she asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I'm trying to come up with plans, but there's only 3 or 4 viable ones that I can come up with."

"T-That's more than enough!" she exclaimed. "B-Besides, Tsuyu can still–"

BBBVVVVVVVVV!

Izuku, Ochako, Mina... Okay, everyone present flinched as Tenya began violently vibrating.

"I-Iida, what's wrong?!" Ochako asked.

"Are you dying?!" Toru shrieked.

"Are you tingling too?" Izuku tilted his head.

"Oh, that's just my cell phone," Tenya informed as he took it out. "Hmm... Oh, it's my mother. I'll need to take this."

"Okay, hurry back!" Ochako said as he walked away.

"First up to the ring for the last semifinal match is Katsuki Bakugo!" Present Mic called. "And then Tsuyu Asui!"

Both students walked out to face each other on the ring, before answering Midnight that they were ready. Then the match started with a bang as Katsuki shot an explosion straight at Tsuyu. She jumped out of the way, only to have to dodge two more consecutive blasts before being able to get close. She wrapped her tongue around his arm, but he swung her around by it and slammed her into the concrete before firing off another explosion. She skidded to a stop at the edge, where she shook it off before jumping forwards again.

She dodged a few more explosions before jumping at him again. When he tried to hit her with his fist, she leaned back to dodge under it. But he opened his hand and blasted straight down onto her face. As her back hit the floor, she kicked up with her long leg and hit Katsuki in the chin. But he was able to catch her by the ankle, then used an explosion to spin around and throw her out of bounds.

"Tsuyu Asui is out of bounds! Katsuki Bakugo wins!" Midnight called. "The final match will be Izuku Midoriya versus Katsuki Bakugo!"

When Katsuki looked up at him in the stands with a wild grin, Izuku audibly gulped.

"I-It'll probably be harder to win if we aren't in a small hallway," Izuku sighed.

_

"Hello Mother," Tenya greeted. "I'm sorry I didn't get too far in the tournament. I was fighting Midoriya though, so it was to be expected. I tried calling Brother earlier, but he didn't pick–"

" _T-Tenya_..." His mother's voice was hoarse, raw. It immediately put him on edge. " _T-That's fine... *Sniff* B-But I'm calling a-about... W-Well, it's Tensei. A-A villain got him._ "

_

 **Notes: Here's a prime example of "making shit up as I go." I was actually planning on Ochako beating Tsuyu, but it just didn't work. And I wrote myself into a corner with the Momo VS Deku fight, but I hope it still fit well. Anyways, the next chapter will, of course, be the last of this arc (except the next bonus chapter). As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	18. Bonus Chapter 4

**I'm only doing this bonus chapter because I don't like how this was handled in either the anime or manga. In the manga, it just showed Tensei's body and phone on the floor covered in blood while Stain monologued. It's heavily implied that he was caught off-guard, since he must've had his phone out for it to have been knocked on the ground. Then in the anime, there was an entire different scene where he was hunting Stain down before somehow finding him in an alleyway. We didn't see the aftermath of it though. I don't like either of those, so here'** **s my version for this AU.**

 _I do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _Bonus Chapter_

 _Stain_ _Makes His Move_

It was supposed to be a routine patrol. There were no signs that a villain would attack. Then again, there rarely ever are.

" _AARGH!_ " came the sidekick's scream over Tensei's radio.

"Rebar, was that you?!" he asked quickly. "Where are you?!"

When there was no response, Tensei started doubling back on his patrol route. There were only so many places his sidekicks were supposed to patrol, so he shouldn't have had too hard of a time finding him. Then, as he was running, his peripheral vision caught a dash of red on the ground of an alleyway he passed. He quickly ran back and found the body of his sidekick, Rebar, laying limp on the ground covered in blood. And standing above him was a man who Tensei had hoped he'd never meet.

"Y-You... You are the hero killer! Stain!" he exclaimed. "How dare you?!"

"This man... is no hero," the villain said in his raspy voice. "To protect just for purposes of wealth or gain... _This man deserves a day job, he's no HERO!_ "

"Stain! You are under arrest!" Tensei yelled as he rocketed at him.

Stain ducked under a punch and attempted to drive his sword up at the hero. With a burst of his engine Tensei dashed to the left, but Stain brought his leg up and kicked his head, knocking his helmet off. The Iida hit the ground and reached to activate his radio, but it was gone with his helmet. So, as he scrambled up against the wishes of his pounding head, he pulled out his phone to call his agency.

He didn't get the chance though, as he was kicked back down to the ground by Stain and dropped his phone in the process. The hero killer then planted his foot on the small of Tensei's back and ran his blade straight through his lower torso.

" _GAH_!" he yelled in pain, trying and failing to reach back and grab the metal weapon.

"Ingenium, the turbo hero, huh?" Stain mused as he slowly and deliberately pulled the sword out of Tensei's back. Then the hero felt his entire body go limp. "What kind of hero are you? Why do you do what you do?" The villain leaned his face down next to Tensei's, and the pro hero could smell the raw stench of blood on his breath. "Your family became extremely wealthy from being 'heroes'. Hmph, that doesn't sound very heroic to me."

Tensei tried to struggle, but his limbs wouldn't respond. On top of that, he was dizzy and his vision was slightly blurring from blood loss.

"All Might, now _he's_ a hero," Stain continued. "He's turned down plenty of rewards in the past. Fame? Fortune? Meaningless to him. He's a hero for the sake of helping others. Someone like you, who profits from your supposed 'good deeds', can never stop me. Only _ALL MIGHT,_ the one true hero, has permission to end me!"

"Ingenium, where'd you go?!" one of Tensei's sidekicks called from nearby.

"I think I saw him go this way!" another replied.

"Hmm, I should take my leave," Stain mused. "Take care, _hero_."

And just like that, he was gone. Tensei could hear his sidekicks nearby, and then he saw two of them run up to his side in the alley. While they talked about calling an ambulance plus backup from the agency, he looked at his phone. Its screen was splattered with his blood, and a notification read: _Tenya Iida - 1 missed call_.

" _Tenya... Sorry..._ " he choked out before his eyes fluttered shut.

_

 **Notes: Yes, I just named a throwaway sidekick 'Rebar'. Which is actually a shame because it'd actually be a cool Quirk. To be able to generate rebar to use as reinforcements for structures or heavy machinery, or to use it as a weapon as well. It'd be a nice Quirk that can be expanded on I think.** **Too bad I just killed him.**


	19. The Sports Festival Stops Continuing

**Me: I'm going to post within 2 weeks, promise.**

 **Also me, 3 days later** **: I'M DONE BITCHES!**

 **Hah! Surprise! I'm a tad early, I realize. And I wasn't joking about the fact that I thought it'd take me at least a week and a half to get this out, yet here we are. This is the finale of the sports festival! I WONDER WHO WILL WIN, HUH?!**

 **So we hit a few milestones! We're at 1,500 followers (which is listed as "2k" on some pages of this site because it rounds up) and 1,200 favorites, and I'm super thankful! We also officially hit 100k words with this chapter, so I'm super happy for that as well!** **Also 150k views! Seriously, I still can't believe the attention that this story has gotten. Thanks a ton!**

 **Anyways, reviews:**

 **Cieszesi Niezmiernie: That fight relied too much on OFA to be of too much use in writing this one.** **I did take inspiration from another fight though.**

 **Ander Arias: I wouldn't say Mr. Uraraka _ships_ Deku with his daughter, but he's supportive of her. Also, remember that the Uraraka parents are the exact opposite of protective. They practically pushed her out of the house when they had her move to another prefecture alone to attend U.A., despite the fact that she said that she wanted to stay and help with their company.**

 **soulripper13: That's it, Rebar's little brother is gonna be a Shiketsu student! *Claps hands* It's canon now.** **I promise I'll try to remember to insert him when I get to the provisional license exam.**

 **And to the multiple people who mentioned it, yes I wrote everything on my damn phone lol.**

 **~Shout-out time~**

 **The chapterly shout out goes to *drum roll*** **The Fafnir Knight by LordXG3!** **It's one of the stories that I try to read as soon as possible once the new chapters come out. It's one of the AU stories that changes quite a bit of stuff around, and it definitely stands out as well put-together compared to a lot of the ones I've seen, at least in my opinion. I really love the story. It doesn't hurt that I was listed as one of the author's inspirations to start writing it, but I swear it really is good. And it's been growing relatively quickly for a new story! I don't think it's as fast as mine did at first, but it definitely has the same potential to get big like this one!**

 **~End shout-out time~**

 **Anyways, this chapter isn't just the fight because I could stretch that to _maybe_ 1.5k words if I was desperate. But I needed more, so there's more stuff in here.** **Who will win? Who will lose? Will the fight live up to the hype? _(Probably not, just being transparent)_ And most importantly, _WHERE IS DEKU KEEPING THE NOTEBOOK?!_ Find the answers to all of these questions right now!**

 _I do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _The Sports Festival Stops_ _Continuing_

There was a fifteen minute break in between the last semifinal match and the finale. But it wasn't helping Izuku relax at all; he was just getting more anxious as the minutes dragged on. And it wasn't just nerves for the match, but he was worried for a completely different reason as well. Tenya had suddenly said that there was a family emergency and that he needed to leave. Of course he expressed that he regretted being unable to see the final round, but whatever happened seemed really important. There were plenty of things that it _could_ have been, but Izuku had a bad feeling. At least Ochako was with him to help calm him down in the prep room.

"Really, I'm sure it's nothing," she said. "I mean, it's definitely _something_ , and he did say it's an _emergency_ , but I'm sure it'll turn out fine."

"Yeah, probably," Izuku nodded. "I wish he could be here though."

"So do I," she agreed. After a few seconds of silence, Ochako got tired of it and addressed the main issue. "So this is more than just the finale of the Sports Festival, isn't it? Everything with you and Bakugo is coming to a head."

"Something like that," he sighed. "After the battle trial, Kacchan said that I wouldn't get another win on him again... He's probably been training like mad outside of school just because he wants to win this. I dunno if I can win..."

"Ugh, stop with that," she sighed. "You're _way_ above him Deku! You totally got this!"

"I'm not way above him at all," he laughed. "Thanks for the vote of confidence though Uraraka."

"Did I stutter?" she deadpanned.

"... No?"

Ochako got up close and poked his shoulder. "You. Totally. Got this."

"I-I, uh... Okay?" he tilted his head. Then, with a smile, he chuckled, "You know, if Iida was here, he'd say not to root for me over another classmate."

"Yeah," she sighed. "But don't worry about that! He'll record your fight and watch it on the TV!"

"Probably," he nodded. "Uraraka, I'm serious when I say that I don't know if I can beat Kacchan. He knows me better than anyone, so he'll know that I have some sort of plan... That makes him hard to plan against."

"You said that you have 3 or 4 viable plans though," she frowned.

"That was optimistic," he sighed, reaching back and taking his notebook out of the waistband of his PE pants. "The more I think about it, the more I realize that he can get around them. Only two of my ideas really have any shot."

"I-I see," Ochako sighed. _WAIT A MINUTE–_ "Did you just pull your notebook out of your pants?!"

"O-Oh, yeah," he scratched his neck and laughed nervously. "There wasn't anywhere else to put it, so..."

Izuku had been keeping his notebook in the backside of his pants. Not a pocket, but actually in his pants, held by the waistband. Why... Why did that seem exactly like something he'd do?

"W-Well, anyways..." Ochako trailed off, looking for anything that might distract her from the fact that Izuku had kept his notebook essentially pressed against his asscheeks the whole time. Then, she met a stroke of genius. "H-Hey, I have an idea! I think I know a plan for you to beat Bakugo!"

"You do?" he asked hopefully. "What is it?"

_

Ochako was smiling to herself as she walked back to her seat. Not only had Deku enthusiastically agreed to her plan, but he had said that he wanted to hang out later. Grab dinner or something, like they had done before beginning their first semester. Alone, just the two of them.

She internally freaked out just at the prospect. Of course she knew it wasn't supposed to be a _date_ or anything, just a get-together between friends to celebrate his making it so far in the tournament. But then again, he'd specified that it would be just the two of them. Not Katsuki, Shinso, Eijiro, Mina, and not Tsuyu. Just the two of them getting dinner, which made sense because they were pretty much best friends due to their time socializing before the school term, but Ochako couldn't help feeling simultaneously ecstatic and nervous.

' _Don't get all nervous, it's just like what we did_ _during the break before school_ _started,_ ' she told herself. ' _Yup, just a couple of friends hangin out!_ '

Safe to say that she was thoroughly distracted from the odd revelation that Deku kept the notebook in his pants.

"Hey Chako, what's with that dopey smile?" Mina teased, jolting the brunette from her thoughts as she realized that she had already made it back to the stands. "Something special happen during your one-on-one time with _Mi~do~ri~_?"

"N-No!" Ochako pouted at the pinkette. "Just t-talked!"

"Talked about what?" Toru asked.

"Y-Y'know... First we talked about whatever might be going on with Iida. Then we talked about the match, the strategy and stuff. And... That's it."

"No! No it isn't!" Mina exclaimed, throwing a napkin in the air (which landed on Denki beside her). "That 'and' definitely had something else behind it!"

"N-No, it didn't!" Ochako insisted.

"Watch where you throw your napkins!" Denki was ignored entirely, and he elected to settle with a small grumble as he dropped the offending material under his seat.

"You're blushing really hard though!" Toru said to Ochako.

"Uwah!" the brunette cried, slapping her cheeks.

"C'mon Chako, what happened?!" Mina begged. "The suspense is killing meeee!"

"How about you drop it?" Hitoshi grunted from his spot two seats over from Ochako. "You're being too loud."

"No way! Not–!" Mina, who had been frozen by Hitoshi's Quirk, received a nudge from Toru before continuing, "Not until she tells us!"

"Yeah! Spill the beans Ochako!" Toru agreed.

"I... He invited me to dinner tonight, okay?!" she finally admitted.

"Oh... OH MY GOD!" Mina shouted as she wrapped her arms around the blushing girl sitting below her.

"It's a date!" Toru gleefully exclaimed.

"Shut up," Hitoshi sighed.

"It's not!" Ochako insisted. "We've gone together for food before, this isn't any different!"

"How many times?" Mina asked, suddenly serious.

"W-What?" Ochako asked.

"How many times have you gone on dates?"

"They're not dates–"

"Answer the question Ochako!" Mina said.

"Twice, aside from weekends when we work out together," Ochako tilted her head. "Why is that important?"

"You're supposed to make the relationship official on the third date!" Mina yelled. "It's the procedure!"

"The procedure!" Toru echoed.

"Stop, it's not a date!" Ochako shouted.

"It totally is!" Mina retorted.

"Shut up, please!" Hitoshi said more loudly this time.

"No!" Mina furrowed her eyebrows at the brainwasher.

As the group continued fussing, Denki leaned over to Eijiro and asked, "Why are they arguing so passionately about this?"

"It's important not to have misunderstandings in these situations," the hardening teen mused. "But Ashido, there's no reason to assume it's a date."

"But Kiriiii!" she whined.

"B-Besides," Ochako said, "Deku w-wouldn't wanna go on a d-date with me."

Everyone sitting in the row behind her laughed uncomfortably.

_

As soon as Aizawa asked for Izuku to get to the entrance tunnel, he hopped up from the bench and started on his way. He was ready, more so than he had been for his fight with Momo, and more than his fights with Shoto and Tenya. The almost full month since the battle trial had been leading up to this last engagement. Finally, on the national stage, he'd compete with Katsuki no-holds-barred, and one of them would be officially ranked as number one. Of course he was nervous, but he was more eager than anything. And how couldn't he be eager to test out the plan that Ochako had come up with? Admittedly it was identical to one of the two he'd been thinking about already, but it was really a good plan and he was more than glad to use it simply for the fact that she was the one who suggested it.

And, speaking of Ochako, another reason that Izuku was in a good mood was that he was all set to hang out with her later. Neither one of them had been able to put much relaxation time aside while they were busy with school and preparations for the Sports Festival. And although they saw each other in school and during their weekend workouts, he really missed the couple of times that they were able to spend time together before their attendance at U.A. started. He smiled at the thought that they'd be able to just hang out again.

When he reached the tunnel, Izuku took a final deep breath in preparation. He was fully recovered from Momo's taser, although he was thoroughly fatigued by his prior matches and healing from Recovery Girl. Then again, Katsuki had used that huge explosion to end out his first match against Ibara and had received some healing for his arm. Although his last two matches hadn't been much of a challenge for him in comparison, so he was probably already recovered. Yeah, Izuku was at a definite disadvantage stamina-wise.

"HEY ERASER!" Present Mic shouted. "IT'S TIME FOR THE FINAL MATCH! AREN'T YOU EXCITED?!"

"Absolutely ecstatic," Aizawa droned.

"Aww, need a nap?! AHAHA!" the voice hero laughed.

"Always, but I can never get one around you," Eraserhead sighed. "Whatever. Are we ready?"

"I THINK SO! AUDIENCE, ARE WE REEAAADYYY?!"

The audience exploded with cheers, the volume making Izuku wince even in the tunnel.

"Alright!" he announced. "First up, let's call these contenders out! I'll forgo the announcement of their classes, because they're both from 1-A! The first student out is the guy who we have _all_ been watching! The student rep for the first years, the winner of _both_ of the other rounds of the festival, the mean green fighting machine who's already become the hottest hashtag on Twitter within the past couple of hours: _IZUKU MIDORIYA_!!!"

"Wait, hashtag?" Izuku asked himself, blanching as he realized he hadn't checked his social media since the Sports Festival began. " _Hottest hashtag?!_ "

Despite his utter bafflement, he walked out onto the stage to thunderous applause. He looked up at the stands and saw his classmates cheering. But it wasn't just them, or his mother, or the pros or crowd or even All Might watching that was now putting pressure on his shoulders. Everyone in all of Japan now knew who he was and they were all talking about him and this battle. And that almost put as much pressure on his shoulders as the death glare that he could feel from Katsuki in the opposite dark tunnel. But Izuku was best under pressure, especially when he already had a plan laid out. And all that pressure just meant he had to push harder so that he wouldn't disappoint.

"And the next student of the final match is another impressive contender!" Mic continued. "The third finisher in the obstacle race, although he was the first one to finish that had a somewhat reasonable time if you ask me. He also got third in the cavalry battle and has been dominating the tournament with his overwhelming amount of force! Give it up for KATSUKI BAKUGO!!!"

Katsuki walked out, receiving just as much applause as Izuku had. But he wasn't phased by the outsiders. His glare was completely focused on his opponent.

"Fun fact!" Present Mic said as Katsuki was walking up. "Last year, these two were involved in an incident with a slime villain! Bakugo was captured as a hostage, and Midoriya saved him before All Might came in and captured the villain! Ain't that funny?! It sounds like Midoriya has been winning over Bakugo for a long time! I wonder if he can keep–!"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE AT ALL!" Izuku and Katsuki shouted at the same time.

"Kacchan has always beaten me until recently!"

"This guy's been a total loser his whole life!"

" _KACCHAN_!" Izuku hissed.

"You damn moron, it's your fault for acting like a total wimp the whole time!" Katsuki chided with a sneer. "Seriously, it pissed me off to no end!"

"Then I bet you've been having the time of your life since I stopped," Izuku grinned.

"Shut the fuck up!" he shouted.

"Whoops, didn't mean to open that can of worms!" Present Mic laughed. "Don't mind me, just looking for interesting commentary!"

"Idiot," Midnight sighed with a shake of her head. "Alright, this is it. Do either of you have any reason for me to postpone the final match?"

"No," they both said while staring at each other.

"Alright then," Midnight grinned. With a shiver, she said, " _Ah, this youthful aggression is really invigorating, hah!_ * _Ahem_ * Are you two ready to begin?"

"Yeah," they both nodded.

"Great!" she announced. "The final match of the Sports Festival's First Years' tournament starts in 3... 2... 1... _BEGIN!!!!!_ "

"Alright Deku!" Katsuki grinned as small pops burst from his hands. "COME AT ME!"

He fired at Izuku and release a large explosion that hurt him a good bit, though he was about to hold steady under the force thanks to his Quirk. Izuku dove forward past the follow-up explosive right hook. Katsuki tried to catch him with another explosion as he passed, but barely missed that one. He kicked off back at the greenette and shoved his hand at him, this time sure he would hit, but then Izuku grabbed the hand with his telekinesis and pointed it at the ground. Katsuki's explosion sent himself flying straight up, but then he just rocketed back down at his opponent. He blasted straight down at Izuku, who could only take the blast head on. However, he landed a kick to the explosive blonde's stomach as he did so.

"Gah! What the fuck?!" Katsuki shouted as he stood back up. "Is your strategy to just wear me down, Deku?! Cuz that's a dumbass strategy!"

Katsuki ran at him again, and Izuku took a lowered stance before he attempted to roll out of harm's way. It didn't work this time, as Katsuki caught him with an explosion and proceeded to pummel him with several more, sending him rolling to the edge. Izuku froze Katsuki in place long enough to scramble up and away from the edge and then decked him across the face just as he was about to break free, knocking him on his ass.

"Damn it!" Katsuki growled as he got up and glared at Izuku who had already gotten to the opposite edge of the ring.

' _Just a little_ _bit more_ ,' Izuku thought as he clutched his pained side and panted. ' _Damn, I'm even more worn out than I realized._ '

Katsuki fired towards him again, powered by his explosions which were angled slightly downwards. Izuku anticipated another right hook, but of course Katsuki realized that he was probably expecting that and threw a left uppercut instead. As Izuku flew a couple of feet in the air from the blast, he used his Quirk on his own leg and kicked his opponent in the chest, apparently knocking the wind out of him.

Izuku landed on his backside and quickly got up as Katsuki tried to regain his breath, then surveyed the ring. He wasn't satisfied quite yet so he ran up to Katsuki, who was trying to stand up, and kicked him back down.

"I thought you were gonna be number one, Kacchan!" Izuku yelled as he knelt down above him and cocked back his fist.

Katsuki could hardly breathe, let alone talk—or more likely yell—but he was able to raise up his arms and ready a couple of explosions meant for his opponent's face. But that was exactly what Izuku wanted. As soon Katsuki had begun to raise his arms, Izuku grabbed his hands and pressed them down against the ring below them. The blonde wasn't able to stop it in that split second and fired the explosions straight into the ground, sending both of them flying up. They each used their Quirks to land a bit more safely, and then glared at each other as they panted.

"Hah... Deku..." Katsuki growled. "What the hell are you doing? Playing this so defensively... What's your plan?!"

"I'm just trying to conserve energy," Izuku lied. "After all, I'm more tired out from my matches than you are."

"Even if that's true, you still have something up your sleeve," he said. "No way you're just playing this by ear."

"But you're holding back too Kacchan," Izuku replied. "What're _you_ up to?"

"Just conserving energy," Katsuki grinned. "After all, I can't be too prepared for whatever you're scheming."

"Well, I've caught my breath," Izuku said with a confident smile. "You ready to get back to it?"

"Fuck yeah!" Katsuki shouted before firing at him one more time.

Izuku started running away from his opponent. Not that he would've been able to outrun Katsuki unless Ochako had made him weightless, but he was able to at least avoid any match-ending blows. And the explosions that _did_ hit him as he ran around the ring were worth putting his plan into action. He used his Quirk to pick up a decently sized chunk of the ring that had been broken out by Katsuki and slammed it into the back of his head to get him to stop pursuing him.

"Argh, what the fuck?!" he exclaimed as he vigorously rubbed the back of his head.

Katsuki's hesitation before resuming his mad dash at Izuku lasted only about a second, but it long was enough for Izuku to collect the debris that had been blown up from the ring (he had put all of it under his Quirk as he ran around) and put it up as a wall in between the two of them. He made the massive cement wall fall down towards Katsuki, but the blonde fired a massive explosion into it before it reached him. The explosion wasn't as big as the one he had used against Ibara, but it still shook the stadium. It broke much of the rubble from Izuku's hold, and vaporized more of it instantly.

"Hah... Crushing me with rubble? That was your plan?!" Katsuki laughed, wiping sweat from his brow. "You disappointed me Deku! Let's finish this!"

But what Katsuki didn't know was that the wall of rubble that Izuku had attempted to drop on him had only been made up of _some_ of the debris. The pieces of cement that were still under Izuku's control had already formed another wall just outside of Katsuki's peripheral vision.

"Here I come Dek–!"

Izuku moved the wall as fast as he could, and it slammed into Katsuki from the side before he even had a chance to charge. The telekinetic hero-in-training kept the force up until the rubble had pushed the surprised Katsuki out of bounds, and then he let the wall collapse.

"And that's it!" Midnight announced. "Katsuki Bakugo is out of bounds! IZUKU MIDORIYA IS THE WINNER OF THE FIRST YEARS' U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAL!"

The huge thunder of applause didn't do much to phase Izuku, who wasn't moving at that point. The entire thing was still processing in his head as he stared at Katsuki out of bounds. The blonde slowly stood up and dusted himself off, then looked at Izuku for a moment. He scowled, then the scowl deepened sharply.

"Damnit!" he shouted before kicking a piece of rubble away. He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned away, saying, "Next time, damn Deku."

"I can't believe it!" Present Mic exclaimed. "He won all three rounds! Is there a triple crown title for him or something like that?!"

"No," Aizawa said simply.

"Hey kid," Midnight said, shaking Izuku's shoulder. "They're gonna do the awards ceremony soon, so come this way."

"Y-Yeah, okay," he nodded.

"Uh, you okay Midoriya?" she asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You're crying."

"I am?" he asked. After wiping away some tears, he chuckled, "Y-Yeah, I guess so."

_

"Now, let's move on to the awards ceremony!" Midnight announced.

Three pedestals labeled '1', '2', and '3' rose up from the ring. On them stood Izuku, Katsuki, then Momo and Tsuyu respectively.

"Presenting the medals," Midnight said, "is you-know-who!"

" ** _I AM_** ," the booming voice of All Might announced as he jumped down and learned in front of the pedestals, " ** _HERE WITH THE–_** "

"He's the one and only All Might!" Midnight said at the same time. With an uncomfortable laugh she apologized, "Sorry, I spoke over you."

" **It's fine,** " he grumbled before clearing his throat and approaching the third place pedestal. " **Young Yaoyorozu, Young Asui, you have both demonstrated excellent skill in battle! I'm happy to say that you've both earned this!** "

"Thanks, kero," Tsuyu croaked as he placed the medal over her head.

" **Your Quirk has many advantages, so don't be afraid to focus on those** ," All Might said as he gave her a small hug. " **Being the best at one thing is sometimes better than being good at many things.** "

"Kero."

"I'll not let this experience go to waste," Momo said with a slight bow as she received her own medal.

" **I'm sure you will find ways to grow in the usage of your Quirk** ," All Might hugged Momo as well. " **I can't wait to see how you'll improve.** "

"Thank you, All Might."

" **And next... Ah, Young Bakugo!** " All Might said as he approached the second place pedestal. " **You definitely proved that you deserve to be here today. Wear this with pride.** "

"Don't want it," Katsuki said as he leaned back to avoid the medal.

" **Huh? But... It's kinda, you know... Why not, anyways?** "

"Second place is just the first loser," Katsuki scowled. "If I didn't win the whole thing, then that's about as good as failing altogether!"

" **Ah, but you have to...** " All Might sighed as Katsuki still refused to let him put it over his head. " **Then, you should wear it as a scar. Let it remind you of how things went here, and inspire you to do better!** "

"Tch, the lack of a first place medal will be enough motivation," Katsuki scoffed. After a moment, All Might suddenly tried to force the medal over his head, and Katsuki started wrestling over it. "Oi, stop it! YOU WANNA DIE?!"

" **AHAHA! Preferably not!** " All Might laughed, before he finally got the medal over Katsuki's head and pulled him into a firm embrace. " **Your** **strength is great, but you're quick to anger and got overconfident in the last moment. You have insane potential, Young Bakugo. Let this improve you.** "

" _TCH, WHATEVER_ ," he scoffed as he shoved All Might away. "I fucking got it."

" **Good. Next, Young Midoriya,** " the number one pro hero turned to Izuku. " **You've definitely made your mark young man! AHAHA! It's only your first year and I can tell you have a shining career ahead of you!** "

"I, uh," Izuku muttered as All Might slipped the medal over his head. "Thanks, All Might."

" ** _I'm so proud Young Midoriya!_** " All Might whispered as he hugged him. " ** _I knew there was something about you!_** "

"Stop, that's embarrassing," he chuckled.

" **All right!** " All Might announced to the stadium as he stepped away. " **Here are your winners! But before the applause, I'd like to commend every student that participated here today! You all gave it your all, and we could tell! Oh, I can already feel the spirit of competition pushing these sprouts to grow into mighty oaks! In that spirit, let's give one last cheer! You all know what I'm about to say, so let's say it together! One, two, three...!** "

" _PLUS ULTRA!_ " everyone in the stands yelled.

" **THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HARD WORK!** **Uh, wait...** "

"All Might, we're supposed to say Plus Ultra," Midnight sighed.

" **Ah, but I just thought they put in so much work, you know?** "

"AHAHA! WHAT AN END TO SUCH AN AMAZING SPORTS FESTIVAL!" Present Mic laughed.

"Yeah, it's over," Aizawa said. "So everyone go home. Except the students, you all need to go to your classrooms for some more announcements."

_

"Deku, you won!" Ochako squeaked as she met him on the way to their classroom. "That was so great!"

"Yeah, guess so," he chuckled nervously.

The students had changed back into their regular uniforms, and Ochako consciously made sure that she saw the notebook safely resting within the confines of a pocket.

"Did your mom call?" she asked.

"Yeah, she said she's gonna make a big katsudon dinner," he laughed. "I told her that you and I were going to get something, but she said that you should come over to our place for dinner. I told her I'd let her know."

"Y-Yeah, that's fine with me," she smiled. ' _It's definitely not a date Mina_.'

"Great, I'll text her," he said.

Ochako glanced down at his phone and saw that he was on Twitter, which was filled with... images of him.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Oh. When Present Mic said that I was blowing up on social media... I got really scared of what they're saying about me," he chuckled. "It looks all good, but it's still really embarrassing that I'm... trending."

"It's just practice for when you're a famous pro!" she laughed.

"Maybe," he laughed too.

They entered the classroom and walked to their separate seats. Ochako was suddenly reminded of Tenya's family emergency as the seat in front of her was empty, while Izuku was ignored by the sulking Katsuki aside from a single grunt. That suited him fine, by the way, as he was too tired to deal with any arguments.

"Anyways," Eraserhead sighed after everyone got situated, "you'll have the next two days off because of the sports festival today. When you all return, the internship requests from the pro heroes will all be accounted for, so be ready to receive those. That's really all there is, so you can leave now if you want. I'm going to be taking a nap."

"Congratulations Midoriya," Hitoshi said as the class began to meander.

"Thanks Shinso," he smiled.

"Seriously though, I wouldn't want to fight you," Hanta said. "I mean, you could just grab my tape with your Quirk. That's totally unfair."

"... It really is," Fumikage nodded.

"But both of you guys were super manly in that finale!" Eijiro said as he popped into the conversation. "Midoriya, that strategy of waiting for Bakugo to scuff up the ring was really smart!"

"Actually, Uraraka came up with that one," he chuckled.

"WHAT?!" Katsuki whirled around, finally breaking his silence.

"Well I was already thinking about something like it," Izuku said quickly. "And the backup wall was my idea too, since I knew you'd blow up the first one."

"Damn, shitty Deku and Round Face," he grumbled before stalking away.

"How vulgar," Momo shook her head.

"Hey Deku," Ochako said as she walked over. "Since we have the next couple of days off, are we on for working out?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I'm definitely up for it."

"Oh, you two are working out?" Eijiro asked. "Self-improvement, I like that manliness! I might just get in some hard exercise myself!"

"I mean, it never hurts to put in some extra effort I guess," Hanta shrugged.

"Indeed," Fumikage nodded again.

"Anyways, I'll get going home now," Izuku said as he stood up.

"Ah, me too," Ochako said.

After saying goodbye to their classmates and getting involved in a couple more small conversations on the way, Ochako and Izuku finally started walking away from class. They talked a little bit about the festival as they walked to the station, more specifically about the attention Izuku was getting online. Even as they walked, there were several people who stopped them to congratulate him on the win.

"H-Hey, Deku," Ochako said. "I'm fine with eating dinner with your mom, but... Everyone congratulating you makes me think... Do you wanna go out and grab lunch to celebrate? Just the two of us?"

"Oh, uh, I'm fine with that," he said. "It's not really lunchtime yet though... _Man, the festival felt way longer than it was_. So, how about we meet up later? I kinda want to go home and shower after that anyways."

"Yeah, makes sense," she chuckled.

The two of them reached the station and talked for a little while longer. They decided on a time to meet up for lunch before Ochako's train arrived, and Izuku's arrived not much later. On the way home, there were even more people who stopped Izuku to congratulate him on the win.

"Information travels fast," he mused as he reached his home.

Upon entry he was picked up in a tight hug from his mother, who was so overexcited that she couldn't do much more than sputter fragmented remarks about how proud she was of her baby boy. He convinced her to let him go in under 5 minutes, which he thought was fairly impressive, and went to take a refreshing shower.

_

 **Notes: When in need of content, add some set-up for prime fluff. That's how the saying goes, correct?**

 **So Deku won all three matches of the sports festival. It makes me think that maybe I shouldn't have put all of those arbitrary limiters on his Quirk and just made him OP if he was gonna win anyways, y'know? But hey, it turned out alright.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys liked the fight, though** **I can't say I'm confident that it'll satisfy all of the hype you guys have.** **Speaking of hype, the notebook reveal happened finally.** **I swear in the manga (too lazy to check the anime) it shows Deku reach into the back of his pants and pull out the notebook. Seriously, I can't deal with Horikoshi sometimes.**

 **I like to do polls on my stories because I like to interact with y'all more and get feedback, so how about this:**

 **What should Shinso's hero name be?**

 **Next** **chapter will be an "in-betweener" as far as plot goes. It'll focus on lunch and dinner with our two precious children, skim over the training, and then deal with the hero names and internship picks. Also, I'm pretty set on what hero Deku will intern with, but I'm always open to suggestions. As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	20. The (Not A) Date

**This chapter ended up taking way longer than I'd normally like. As in, I'm putting the finishing touches on it in the middle of the night before I post it. On top of my normal life, Red Dead Redemption 2 is now draining my free time. God, I'm pathetic. Also, I've been out-of-whack in general for the last few weeks, so I was hardcore stressing about this chapter. I'm not confident at all that I wrote anyone in character, not that I could find anything that's necessarily _out_ of character. It's just a weird gut feeling.**

 **Anyways** **, Happy** **Halloween** **! I know that I said this would cover the date/not date and then dinner and the hero naming, but I seem to be too stupid to realize how long each of those things will take. So here's this.**

 **Review time:**

 **LordXG3: Looking forward to it!**

 **LastName98: Hmm, I like that idea.**

 **kira444: It's not even a theory, it shows it in the manga lol**

 **bens6757: There won't be any 'Active Pheromones'-tier smut in this story. And if there is any smut at all, it'll be way way way way way later. Also I really feel bad because whenever I see you ask for more Mei, I think to myself, "Maybe but probably not," and I'm sorry.**

 **Mumblesnake: Actually, I've thought about something along those lines.**

 **ManBot approves: Okay, y'all really want to know when he's getting One For All? Not now. Definitely not for a couple more arcs.**

 **Reverseflash: Yeah, those fake updates be real painful on me too.**

 **Logic Soldier: Considering the fact that the Sports Festival was 6 full-length chapters and 3 bonus chapters, I can definitely see that it dragged on for a while. But I honestly don't know what you saw in this story to begin with, so if you really want to drop it then I can't stop you. You've already dropped it once before, so I can see how it's getting out of hand for you.**

 **DragonSword35d: While there are gases that are lighter than air, they wouldn't reduce Deku's weight. They'd reduce his average density, but the gases are still affected by gravity.**

 **Guest: I'm undecided as to whether the league will still try to kidnap Bakugo.**

 **Midnight Angels Say GoodNight: Maybe, but that'd be later on.**

 **~Shout-out time~**

 **'Dormant' by StandAlone86! It's a good one!** **It's got a bit of an OOC Izuku, an OC in there, and a latent Quirk awakening in Izuku when he needs it most!** **It doesn't update as often as some stories, but it's great nonetheless!**

 **~End shout-out time~**

 **So I kept going back and forth on whether or not they'd clarify it as a date, or if one of them would make any moves, or if there would be some outside intervening force, etc, etc. So whatever happens, it's as surprising to me as it is to you!**

 _I_ _do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _The (Not A) Date_

Ochako had gone home to shower and change just like Deku had. They were supposed to meet soon for lunch. Or, Deku was supposed to show up at her apartment soon because it was in between his place and the restaurant. Part of Ochako kept thinking back to what her classmates had said. That Deku had asked her on a date. But that was ridiculous so she ejected the idea every time it popped up.

' _Nah, life doesn't work like that_ ,' she told herself. ' _He doesn't feel the same as I do, no way. AND EVEN IF HE DOES, WE NEED TO FOCUS ON BEING HEROES!_ '

Ochako slapped her cheeks as she laid down on her bed. She couldn't think about it. This was supposed to be a fun celebration, not an awkward game of _Date or No Date_. She just needed to calm down by the time Deku showed up so she'd be able to enjoy his company. Which might have been possible if the doorbell didn't ring right then.

"Coming!" she called as she got up. ' _Isn't he early?_ ' There was no avoiding it though, so she grabbed her things and opened the door. "Hey De–"

It wasn't Deku.

"OCHAKO!!" her parents exclaimed as they embraced her.

"W-What?" Ochako asked. "M-Mom?! Dad?! Why are– W-What are you doing here? How did–"

"We came to see ya!" her mom explained.

"After that phone call, your old man just had to come see his little champ!" her dad said with a thumbs-up.

"B-But what about work?! And how'd you get here so fast? Did ya take the bullet train?!"

"Yeah, we wanted to celebrate with you," her mother smiled. "It's more important than work."

"You guys...!" Ochako smiled widely as she wiped a tear from her eye. But then she remembered that she already had plans to spend both lunch and dinner with Deku. "You guys should've asked me first!"

"Huh? But we wanted to surprise you," her dad laughed.

"I already have plans though!" she exclaimed as she grabbed at her hair.

"Hm, with friends?" her mother asked. Then she smiled, "With that green haired one? Oh, what was his name–?"

"N-NO!" she shouted. "I-I mean, yeah, I'm goin' to lunch and dinner with Deku."

"Lunch _and_ dinner?" her father laughed.

"W-We were only gonna go out to dinner, b-but his mom s-said that she wanted t-to make us both a homemade m-meal to celebrate. So we decided to go fer lunch, j-just the two of us."

"Hmm?" her Mom hummed. "Well I wouldn't wanna intrude on your lunch, but I would actually like to meet this Deku's mom."

"H-His name's I-Izuku Midoriya," Ochako clarified.

"But ya call 'im Deku?"

"D-Dad already teased me over the phone for that," Ochako pouted.

"Ahaha! Well, ya seem close!" she laughed. "He's the one you said saved ya in the exam, right?"

"Yeah," Ochako nodded.

"Well he seems like a right gentleman," Mrs. Uraraka said. "But when's this lunch supposed to happen?"

"He's supposed to be here in like... 10-ish minutes."

"Well, let's just sit down an' talk for a little bit," Mr. Uraraka said. "Then we'll let you get to your date."

"I-It's not a date!" she insisted, although her parents only gave her laughter in reply.

_

When Izuku had received the phone call from his mother, he had almost punched himself in the face for making plans with Ochako. Of course his mom would want to celebrate. And he was glad that his mom wanted Ochako over, but he was still a bit disappointed that he wouldn't be able to spend it alone with her. He wasn't going to ask Ochako that she go to lunch with him, since he thought she wouldn't want to spend (essentially) the whole day with him, so he was more than happy when she was the one who suggested it.

But he was a little nervous. He was really happy to spend time with Ochako again, yet it didn't mask that strange pit in his stomach. He had just won the first years' portion of the _U.A. Sports Festival_ , the biggest sporting event in Japan! And on top of that, he was going to spend time with his closest friend Ochako. So what was weighing on him? It might have to do with the misunderstanding that had occurred about a month earlier, before the USJ attack.

" _But I'd bet Midoriya and Uraraka would be real popular as a hero duo!_ " Denki had said. " _They look pretty cute together, don't you guys think so?_ "

Izuku hadn't thought of it until that point, but he supposed he and Ochako were pretty close. And she was really nice, probably the cutest girl he knew, and made something jump up in his heart every time he saw her, but... Well, he wasn't stupid. He knew he liked her. In fact, she was probably the third most important person to him besides his mother and All Might. But he had consciously tried to ignore it up until this point, as anything related to romance would only distract them both from their hero studies. But at times like this, right after the Sports Festival, there wasn't much to be distracted from. So having fun for a day wouldn't be too bad, right? Not that he was planning for anything to venture outside of the realm of "friendly", but spending time with her would be enjoyable either way.

After showering and talking to his mom about the festival for a while, Izuku departed for Ochako's apartment. The plan was to go to the same restaurant that they'd gone to for their first outing, then maybe visit the mochi shop that was nearby. Pretty simple, nothing too adventurous, but just enough for two friends to have a good time hanging out. Izuku nodded to himself, then ascended the stairs to her apartment. He knocked on the door, and was almost surprised when she didn't immediately open the door (he had kinda gotten used to it since she had done it both of the times he had come over). But then the door opened to reveal a brown-haired man and woman, the man fairly muscular and the woman having a familiar blush on her cheeks.

"U-Um..." Izuku stuttered, since he was expecting Ochako to answer.

"You're Izuku Midoriya, right?" the man asked, narrowing his eyes menacingly.

"Ochako was expectin' you," the woman said with a warm smile.

' _Their energies are totally different!_ ' Izuku thought. But he kept his cool and said, "Yes, I'm Izuku Midoriya. Are you... Uraraka's parents?"

"Yeah, we are," Mr. Uraraka nodded. "So do you normally call her 'Uraraka' or are you just trying to sound polite in front of her parents?"

"What else would I call her?" Izuku asked.

"Well she calls you by a cute nickname, so it's kinda weird for ya to be so formal when she's not, y'know?" Mrs. Uraraka said.

"Honey, it's hard to keep a tough-lookin face when you're so nonchalant!" Mr. Uraraka sighed to his wife.

"Ah, don't tease 'im," she laughed.

"So... Is lunch still on?" Izuku asked. "Uraraka didn't mention that you're in town."

"Oh yeah, we'll let you two go in a bit," Mrs. Uraraka chuckled and scratched her neck. "That's our bad, we kinda popped in unannounced."

"Anyways, now that my cover's blown," Mr. Uraraka sighed. He smiled widely and placed his hands on Izuku's shoulders, "It's nice ta finally meet tha guy that saved ma daughter's life in the exam!"

"O-Oh yeah?" Izuku chuckled uncomfortably. "Nice to meet you too."

"Oh, come on in!" Mrs. Uraraka insisted as she turned around and walked inside.

' _I've never been in Uraraka's apartment before,_ ' he realized as he followed the adults inside.

The apartment was small. There was a small hallway that seemed to double as a kitchen with the cooking utilities on the right side, and had two doors on the left and one at the end. The Urarakas led him to the door at the end of the hallway, which led to a small living room/dining room.

"H-Hey Deku," Ochako said, sitting at the table as she blushed furiously.

"Hey Uraraka," Izuku smiled.

"So, there's only a couple things we wanna talk about before lettin' you two go," Mr. Uraraka said, prompting the two teens to look at him. "First, Midoriya, we heard that your mother is plannin' a dinner for the both of ya."

"Yes sir," Izuku nodded.

"Well, we came into town with the idea that we'd be able to celebrate with Ochako an' all. Even if we'll let you go out together for lunch, we wanna spend at least one meal celebratin' with her, y'know? Besides, Ochako's mother and I kinda wanted to meet your mom anyways, so would it be too much to ask that we could come along for dinner?"

"O-Oh, not at all!" Izuku said, though he was caught a bit off-guard. "I just need to call her and let her know that we'll need more food."

"Ooh, that's great!" Mrs. Uraraka smiled. "Any idea what's for dinner?"

"Katsudon and red rice," Izuku said.

"Oh, sounds great!" she nodded.

"Anyways, the other thing we wanted to talk about," Mr. Uraraka said. "What's the deal with how you two held each other in the first round of the festival?"

"Eh?" Izuku asked, a blush hitting his cheeks. He looked at Ochako, but she was blushing even harder and had her head buried in her hands. She'd be no help. "A-Ah, well, my Q-Quirk is dependant on weight, so Uraraka's Quirk naturally powers mine up. It's a really good combo."

"Okay... But why did ya have to hold each other like that?"

"U-Um–"

"I-I was really scared of m-moving that fast," Ochako spoke up. "S-So I asked him to hold me."

"AHAHAHA!" her dad laughed with his hands on his hips. "You're scared of somethin' like that after what happened at that USJ facility?"

"W-Well I was scared then too..." she pouted.

Izuku ended up calling Inko to ask her if a couple of more guests was too much trouble, which she said it absolutely was not. Then he and Ochako were finally let go from the apartment.

"S-Sorry about that," Ochako giggled and scratched her neck as they walked. "I didn't expect them to show up out of nowhere."

"It's fine, don't apologize," Izuku chuckled. "My mom crashed our dinner plans in the first place, so it went both ways I guess. Besides, I'm glad I met your parents. They seem nice."

"Yeah," she nodded. "But it's not the same as your mom. You're the one who won first place, so at least that makes more sense, ehe."

"You got pretty far too," Izuku noted. "The quarterfinals in the U.A. sports festival isn't exactly easy to get to."

"Y-Yeah," she nodded with a smile. "Y'know, sometimes I forget that we're students at _U.A._ It doesn't really feel too different from a normal school a lot of the time."

"I know what you mean," he agreed. "The only things we've done apart from regular classes are the hero studies course and the sports festival. And all of the teachers are heroes, but they only act like regular teachers for the most part."

"But I guess it _is_ still school," she sighed.

"Yeah. But it's really cool to think that we're training to be heroes either way."

"Y-Yeah," Ochako nodded. "It's gonna be a lot of work to get there."

"But we'll get there. Together," Izuku smiled. When Ochako's face exploded in red, Izuku realized what he said and corrected, "I-I meant that because we're gonna be a hero duo! B-Because our Quirks work well together!"

"A-Ah, yeah," Ochako stuttered as she looked down and away. "Our hero duo, right."

"Oh, speaking of, Aizawa Sensei said that we'll be getting pro hero internships when we get back."

"Oh yeah," Ochako recalled. "I wonder how many you'll get!"

"Why me?" he chuckled. "Shouldn't you be interested in your own offers?"

"Yeah, but they're being given based on performance," she said. "So I wonder how many you'll get compared to people with lower rankings."

At that point, Izuku and Ochako reached the restaurant. Of course they were recognized by most of the people in there almost instantly. The manager even came out and seated them personally, then offered that anything they ordered would be on the house in celebration. Izuku would've refused but Ochako, being Ochako, accepted the offer for him before he could even speak. They both ordered waters to drink while they thought about the main course.

"That's nice of 'em to give us free food," Ochako said. "Maybe the attention ain't so bad?"

"But it feels weird not paying," Izuku sighed. "I was gonna refuse."

"Eh, but it's your day to celebrate!" Ochako smiled. "Besides, they wouldn't have offered if they didn't want to."

"I guess," Izuku sighed as he looked down at his menu.

"Gonna get katsudon again?" she asked after a moment of looking over her own menu.

"Eh, no," he answered. "We're having my mom's katsudon for dinner, so I'll go for something else... Maybe oyakodon... Donburi actually sounds good right now..."

"A-Anyways, Deku... What kind of hero would you want to intern with?"

"Huh?" he looked up at Ochako. "O-Oh, I uh... dunno, I guess. I'd want to go where I think I'd be able to improve the most. And what I think I'm lacking is in... Well, I guess creativity? I can throw rocks all day, but I, theoretically, could trap people or immobilize them by putting objects in a certain position around them. Also, I could hit things like pressure points from far away if I know where they are and am precise enough. So I guess... I'd want to go with someone who could train my mind to be more perceptive and disciplined."

"W-Wow, you thought that out," Ochako giggled.

"Ah, yeah, I guess so," he chuckled. "Who would you want to go with?"

"Well..." she tilted her head back and forth. "My Quirk relies on getting my hands on people, so I was actually thinking of training in hand-to-hand combat. Y-Y'know, to learn grapples and stuff."

"Oh, that's smart," he mused. "But it all depends on who requests us, I guess."

"Yeah."

The manager returned to personally take their orders. Izuku ordered donburi and Ochako ended up settling on ramen herself. Their attention was soon drawn to a small television in the upper corner of the restaurant, where clips from the second years' portion of the sports festival was being broadcast.

" _But that didn't catch the public's attention as much as the third or first years' rounds_ ," a newscaster said. " _There was an... incident during the third years' obstacle race where a student stripped naked all of a sudden. Other than that, it was certainly an impressive competition of Quirks. But that too was nothing compared to the first years' competition in terms of getting attention, where the whole thing was dominated by a certain Izuku Midoriya. He won all three events, which is something that hasn't been done in any of the competitions for almost 20 years. Certainly impressive, he'll be a hero to watch for sure._ "

"They keep hyping me up," Izuku chuckled. "It's embarrassing."

"But they aren't wrong," Ochako said.

" _And it all started in the first round, when he cleared the obstacle race in record time along with another student, Ochako Uraraka,"_ the newscaster said as the slow-motion video of them crossing the finish line played in the background.

"SO EMBARRASSING!" Ochako squeaked.

"It's not that bad Uraraka," Izuku chuckled.

"It is! I was holding on for my life! That picture makes me look like a scaredy cat!"

"But you looked good the rest of the festival," he said. "And you got second place in the race, plus you got first in the cavalry battle too."

"Yeah, I guess," she nodded. "It's still embarrassin..."

"Think of it as training for when you're a famous hero," he said.

"Did you just mock me?" she asked.

"Just a little bit," Izuku smirked.

"Rude," she pouted. But then she giggled, "But you aren't wrong, especially if we really end up as a duo."

"Yeah," he sighed as he took a sip of his water. "But even right now... I can feel everyone watching us."

"Yeah..." Ochako glanced out the window and saw multiple people looking through the glass. "I guess it is good practice though."

"But it's kinda annoying when we're just trying to hang out."

"Uh-huh," she nodded. "Oh, did you hear about that new American hero movie that's getting released here now?"

Izuku and Ochako continued to make irrelevant small talk until their food arrived. They both enjoyed their meals, even though they never seemed to get much privacy from other people. A few even approached and asked to get pictures with them. They minded the attention a bit, but it was still enjoyable overall.

"Ah, so do you want to get mochi next?" Izuku asked once a waiter returned to take their dishes.

"Yeah, especially since we didn't spend any money here," Ochako nodded.

The manager returned and bowed, saying, "Thank you for coming! Congratulations again on the festival win!"

"Thanks, the food was great," Izuku smiled.

"PLEASE RECOMMEND US!" he bowed again, more deeply this time.

"I-If it comes up," Ochako laughed uncomfortably.

" _A breaking news report!_ " the newscaster on the television said suddenly, gaining the attention of the three at the table. " _This morning, the Hero Killer known as 'Stain' attacked two heroes in Hosu! The pro hero Ingenium was injured and is in the hospital, though there's no news on his condition, and one of his sidekicks, Rebar, was killed._ _They are the only..._ "

"Did he say Ingenium?" Izuku asked.

"Hm, yes he did," the manager said. "Why?"

"I-It's nothing," he said quickly. "C'mon Uraraka, let's go."

"Y-Yeah," she nodded.

Izuku found Tenya's contact as they left the restaurant and dialed. It eventually went to voicemail, and he elected not to leave a message. Instead he sent a text saying that he had heard what happened and wanted to know how he was doing.

"I can't believe it," Ochako sighed. "Iida's brother was hurt..."

When Tenya first described his brother, Izuku related to it because it was similar to his admiration of All Might. But Ingenium was hospitalized by the hero killer, and Izuku couldn't imagine how that would make his friend feel. Partially because All Might's only major injury was one that he didn't even know about until 5 years after it happened.

"Iida looked up to him a lot..." Izuku furrowed his eyebrows. "I hope they're both alright."

"Yeah," Ochako agreed.

"So... You still up for mochi?" he asked.

"No, not really. My appetite's gone. What a bad way to end such a good date." Ochako didn't realize that she was saying 'date' until it was already out, and it left her sputtering to collect her words. "I m-m-mean n-not date! Not date! N-Not that I w-wouldn't go on a d-date with ya b-but this t-t- _totally_ wasn't, r-right?! I-I mean, D-D-Deku,–"

"Uraraka?"

"– you probably wouldn't wanna go on a date with me anyways and even if you did–"

"Uraraka."

"–we're way too swamped with school and becoming heroes to even consider anything along the lines of rel–"

" _Uraraka_!" Izuku said louder as he shook her shoulder lightly.

When she stopped panicking for a second and looked at Izuku, she saw that he was blushing almost as much as she was.

"Were you... thinking that this would be a... d-date?" he asked.

"N-No, but... M-Mina and Toru said that it p-probably would be, so... I... I'm sorry, I overthought it."

"N-No, it's fine," Izuku smiled nervously. "Do you, uh, want it to be?"

"... Huh?" Ochako's eyes went very wide.

"Did you want this... to be a date?" Izuku was blushing much more than Ochako now.

"I-I uh... I wouldn't, um... I-I wouldn't mind i-if it is," she admitted.

"I-I wouldn't either," he smiled a little bit and his blush slightly receded, though he was still pretty red. "T-Then... How about we have mochi after all?"

"Y-Yeah," she nodded with a bright smile before they started walking to the mochi shop. ' _OH MY GOD IT_ IS _A DATE! WHAT SHOULD I DO?!_ _Alright, calm down. If he's okay with this being a date in the first place, then that means I'm obviously doin'_ somethin' _right. Just don't stop whatever that is_.'

' _I can't believe she wants this to be a date!_ ' Izuku thought as they walked. _'What did she say? Ashido and Hagakure told her it's a date? Why would they think that? Either way, I guess I'm glad that it is, but could a relationship even work while we're attending U.A.? We have so much pressure on us to become heroes, so..._ '

' _Oh, it's no use!_ ' Ochako sighed inwardly. ' _Even if I could figure out what he likes about me, I'm too nervous to do anything anyways!_ '

' _Relationship? What am I even thinking about? Dates don't mean you're in a relationship, they're just something that people do if they like each other. Wait, does that mean that Uraraka likes me that way?! T-There's no way, right? I mean she_ does _say that I'm really cool a lot of the time, but..._ _That'd be a whole different level..!_ '

' _I'm so nervous that I'll lock up!_ '

' _What's even happening anymore?!_ '

"Are you two going to get something or are you just gonna stand there and keep mumbling?" the clerk at the mochi shop asked. The two hero hopefuls had arrived a minute earlier but hadn't noticed.

"Ah, strawberry daifuku for me," Ochako said without locking up.

"Green tea mochi for me," Izuku said completely coherently.

"Alright, that'll be ¥340," the cashier sighed.

Izuku paid for both of them, then Ochako grumbled, "Hey, you shouldn't be paying. We're celebrating _your_ win after all."

"Eh, sorry," he scratched the back of his neck. "But since this ended up being a date, I wanted to treat you."

"W-W-WELL IN T-THAT CASE–!" Ochako sputtered before turning around to hide her blush. "... T-Thanks Deku..."

"Y-Yeah," he said, blushing as well.

Apparently feeling the need to alleviate the awkward tension in the air, the employee asked, "Well, what 'win' are you celebrating?"

"The, uh... Wait, you haven't heard?" Izuku asked. Part of him felt that it was kind of a cocky thing to say, but he was honestly surprised since the guy seemed bored to all hell and he'd probably see the news on any social media he opened.

"Mm, no," he shrugged. "What, was it big?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Izuku chuckled.

"So... what did you win?" he asked.

"A-Ah, well..."

"I'll have you know that _this guy_ right here," Ochako said as she turned back around to face the cashier and pointed her thumb at Izuku, "is a U.A. Sports Festival Champion!"

"The U... WAIT, THAT WAS TODAY?!" he asked.

"Uh, yeah," Izuku nodded. "Why?"

"My cousin is a second year student there!" he exclaimed as he slapped his forehead. "I totally forgot to check the news on my laptop!"

"What about your phone?" Izuku asked.

"Oh, I dropped it a few days ago," he sighed. "I've been on minimal technology since. Anyways, what year are you in? You look like first years to me..."

"Yeah, first years," Ochako nodded.

"Well then congrats," he smiled. "Hear anything on the second year tournament?"

"No, sorry," Izuku scratched his neck. "I've been too busy with all of the attention."

"Ah, no worries," he said. "Well that's definitely something to celebrate. Just take a seat and I'll have those ready for you in a second."

"Thanks!" the teens both said before walking to a table and sitting down across from each other.

"I wish we didn't tell him that I won the festival," Izuku groaned as he ran a hand through his hair. "He was one of the only people we saw today that didn't know."

"Aw c'mon, be proud of it!" Ochako giggled. "You earned that win."

"Yeah, but it's embarrassing," he pouted. "It's easier to talk to people normally."

"Well you'll never talk to someone normally again once you're a hero, so this is just like training," Ochako said. "Y'know, that's the third time we said that today."

"Because it never stops feeling awkward," Izuku sighed. "Maybe U.A. knew this would happen and they publicize the festival on purpose. Like, training on top of training."

"Then I guess it really would be the country's best hero course," she mused. ' _Okay, this is a date... What are ya supposed to say on a date? I mean, a first date would normally be a get-to-know-ya kinda thing, but we already went through all that. So... Should I say somethin' funny? Nah, I don't do good humor. Should it be... romantic? No, I have_ no _idea what to do in that category... Wait, what am I thinkin'? This is just a celebration, so just be friendly! Even though it's a date... UGH!_ '

"U-Uraraka, are you alright?" Izuku asked. "Are you breathing?"

"H-Huh?" Ochako smiled nervously at him. "I-I'm fine, why?"

"Your face is... really really red."

"A-Ah, it is?!" she asked as she clapped her cheeks. "I-I'm sorry, I guess I'm j-just nervous."

" _You're_ nervous?" Izuku asked. "Why?"

"W-Well, I've never been on... a d-date before," she said as she looked away. "I d-dunno what I-I should say or do, y'know? A-And it's _your_ celebration, so I wanna make sure you have a good time."

"You're worried about that too?" he asked with a nervous laugh. "I haven't been on a date either, so I'm also not sure what to do. And as for having a good time... Y'know, the whole reason I invited you to dinner in the first place is because I always have a good time when I'm with you. More than Shinso or... Iida... or anyone else. Right now... Well, for a while now, you've been my best friend by a _long_ shot. And... It's been a while since we just hung out, so I thought we could relax and spend some time together. I didn't think that it would be a date or anything at first, so don't feel pressured into doing anything date-y. And really, just being with you is enough for my celebration."

"I-I... Deku..." Ochako had no idea what to say after that. Her soul somehow felt light and airy, and she was almost moved to tears by the sentiment. Almost but not quite. "Deku, I–"

"Okay, the green tea mochi and the strawberry daifuku," the waiter, who was a different guy than the cashier, said as he set down the plates. "Wait... You're the guy who won all three events in the U.A. festival!"

"Erm, yeah," Izuku chuckled and scratched his cheek.

_

"Ugh..! That guy totally ruined the atmosphere!" Mina whined as she and the other three girls watched through the monitor.

Momo sighed for the fifth time, "I can't believe you made me make a reconnaissance robot for something like this... We've eavesdropped on Uraraka since the festival ended!"

"C'mon Yaomomo," Toru giggled. "You can't say this isn't interesting!"

"Even I have to admit it, I want to see where this goes," Kyoka grinned. "And I didn't expect Midoriya to get all sappy like that! Pretty funny if you ask me!"

"But what about the stuff her parents said?" Mina asked. "They totally drilled her for the details on her crush! That was totally great to listen to!"

"Dishonorable," Momo sighed and shook her head.

"What're they doing now?" Toru asked.

"Just eating and talking about how good the mochi is," Mina said.

"I could actually go for some mochi now that I think about it," the invisible girl sighed.

"I'd say we could try disguises and go in, but we'd make a conspicuous group no matter what," Kyoka mused. "I mean... A girl with invisible skin, a girl with pink skin, a girl with earphone jacks coming from her earlobes and a girl with a rack like Yaomomo's couldn't be easily mistaken."

Momo gasped and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Ugh, I can't believe Tsuyu didn't come though," Mina pouted. "I get that she has siblings to take care of, but still..."

"Hm? What's happening now?" Toru asked, getting closer to the screen.

_

"And that's how I learned not to mess with my dad's construction sites," Ochako laughed along with Izuku. "I felt really bad since that set them back a week or two on the project."

"That one plank was holding up the whole wall?" Izuku chuckled. "Sounds like a bad design to me."

"Yeah, the guy who set it up was fired," she said.

"Well he should–"

A vibration came from Izuku's pocket, alerting him to a text. He checked it, and he lit up in a smile when he saw the caller ID.

Tenya Iida: _Thank you for being concerned Midoriya. I am doing well. My brother does not have any life-threatening injuries, which is good, although he is currently unconscious. Also, congratulations on winning the festival! I regret being unable to attend the final match, but I viewed it on my phone. I'll see you in a few days!_

Izuku read the text to Ochako, who giggled at the formalness of it. Izuku replied that he was glad that Ingenium was going to be alright and was thankful for the congratulations. Then he and Ochako, both happy for some good news from their friend, finished off their mochi and left.

"Thanks again for paying for the mochi," Ochako said as they reached her apartment complex.

"Yeah, of course," Izuku smiled. "So, I guess I'll see you later."

"Um, yeah," she nodded with a smile of her own. "So I guess I should, um, go now?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

Ochako hesitated. She didn't feel like she was ready to go back to her apartment yet. Something was missing, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Izuku was feeling similarly, as if something was left unfinished. As if leaving right now would leave them feeling unsatisfied.

" _KISS, KISS, KISS,_ " Mina chanted nearby.

"I-I think we should... hang out again soon," Izuku said. "Aside from dinner tonight and our training, I mean. Like... another d-date?"

"A-Ah, I, uh..." Ochako looked away at the ground as her face flared up again. "I-I'd like that... I-I mean definitely! I am d-definitely interested in doin' that!"

"Good," he smiled. "So, I'll see you later then."

Ochako raised her fist up at Izuku and said, "And congratulations, again. I'll try harder to meet ya in the finals next time."

"Yeah," he nodded with a smile and bumped fists with her. "Then try keeping up on the run tomorrow."

"That's just unfair! You're _not normal_ , you know that?" she sighed with a light chuckle.

"Heroes can't afford to be normal," he retorted.

"Yeah, you're right," Ochako smiled. "See you at dinner."

"Yeah, later," he said as he waved and walked away.

Ochako also waved then began walking back to her apartment.

" _DAMNIT!_ " Mina yelled and threw the monitor in the air.

Ochako noticed the scream, but decided to ignore it. She was focused on other, more important things. Namely, the million questions her parents would probably have about her date.

_

 **Notes: Ta-dah! I really did plan to have the dinner and hero names in this chapter, but those would take way too much time and word count to put in here. But that does give me an opportunity to put in a final poll for Shinso's hero name! There are a few that I like, so let's see what you all think.**

 **1\. Mockingbird**

 **2\. Speakeasy**

 **3\. Questionnaire**

 **4\. Director**

 **5\. Mindflayer**

 **Anyways, I hope you all have a great Halloween! Get that calorie count up! As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	21. Getting Set Up To Intern!

**Contrary to what you may think, I'm not dead! Yet! Sorry I've let so much time go by with no update, but life kinda happened. In fact, life is starting to happen a _lot_ , so updates will be on more of a Viridescent-style schedule from now on (AKA whenever I want to and have some scraps of time). I'm not completely stopping away from fanfiction, but I'll be taking my sweet ass time. I know you'll understand, but I still wish I could do these more quickly.**

 **Anyways** **, the results for Shinso's name were pretty one-sided. And despite some convincing arguments for certain names, I'm going with majority rule. Also we reached 1k favorites on Active Pheromones, hoorah.**

 **Also** **I think last chapter got more reviews than any of my other ones so far! Although not many people actually said anything other than voting on the poll or "nice chapter."**

 **Reviews:**

 **Blaze1992: I mean, yeah. I've been pretty clear that Izuku and Ochako are the pairing since the start.**

 **moonstar31548: And since when has Mina been a stickler for manners?**

 **KahunaLagoona: I feel you on the lack of romantic experience. At least I _did_ until recently. ;) That's part of the "life" stuff that delayed this chapter btw.**

 **Hawke** **Nightblade: That's actually really good and I would have considered it if the response to the poll wasn't so one-sided.**

 **Mondler123: I don't have a set end, but I would like to go to the Overhaul arc eventually.**

 **Benjamin (guest): Nice idea on the agency** **huh!**

 **ILiekFishes: Fluff actually is a decent focus for this story lol. I always planned to have it play a big role alongside the action.**

 **A potato (guest): He'll get OFA if and when he gets it! I already have that part planned out so shush!**

 **btn29: Yeah, great minds haha. Also your dedication to posting chapters is insane with the consistent quality, it makes me feel inadequate lol.**

 **Orbital: Now I feel bad because I'm slowing my update schedule. :(**

 **carl9390: I don't like to reiterate, but Izuku has limits on his ability to control sentient bodies if they resist.**

 **~Shoutout time~**

 **Deku: Hero of the Elements by ShadowK54** **! It may be a harem story, but it's so much more! I'm also a fan of some of his _other_ works that may also involve Deku having a harem, but I don't want to advertise those kinds of stories on this one. Well okay, maybe I already advertised my own smut piece, but that's totally different. But I really like the author in general and their stories are worth a look-see!**

 **~End shoutout time~**

 **I'm sorry if the chapter seems awfully disjointed, but it was written and revised over the full course of 3 weeks and might not be my best work. But it's about what I wanted to get at, whether or not the in-between stuff is as good as normal.**

 **Still, I hope you enjoy!**

 _I d_ _o not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

_

 _Getting Set Up To Intern!_

"Mom, I'm home!" Izuku called as he walked into their apartment and locked the door behind him.

"Welcome back Izuku!" Inko replied from the kitchen. "Can you come here?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Izuku turned the corner into the kitchen, where his mother was pulling food from some grocery bags.

"Could you help me unload these groceries?" she asked. "I had to get more ingredients for dinner since Ochako's parents are stopping by, and just decided to stock up on some other things that we needed."

"Yeah, sure," he said as he walked in and started grabbing groceries out of a bag.

"So, Izuku," Inko asked after putting away a few items, "how was lunch?"

"Good," he replied. "We went and got mochi after, and that was good too."

"Hm, good, good," she nodded. "How's Ochako doing?"

"She's doing good. She's happy that she made it so far in the tournament, but kind of wishes that she did more. Which I get, but she did more than enough to stand out I think."

"Probably," Inko nodded, eyeing her son. "Anything else?"

"Um... Like what?" Izuku paused and tilted his head.

"Well... It's not every day that you go out and get lunch with a girl, sweetie."

"Mom," Izuku groaned, "we've done this before, you know. And we work out together every week."

"Yeah, I know," she admitted. "But there _is_ something, right?"

"Well, I mean..." he looked away and scratched the back of his neck.

"Izuku, I could tell something happened the moment you walked in," she smiled. "You have an even bigger smile on your face than you did earlier."

"Y-Yeah, something did happen I guess," Izuku sighed. He returned to putting away the groceries, but he could still feel his mom's stare.

"So, what is it?" she asked.

Izuku slightly flinched. He didn't want to lie to his mom (he was raised better than that), but he was hoping to avoid this rather embarrassing development. But it was looking unavoidable.

"Well... Uraraka and I decided that... it was... it was a d-date."

There. He said it. He really had no idea how his mom would react, though she had never been anything but supportive of him in everything. But this was different, and he had heard of mothers being overprotective of their sons–

"Really? That's great!" she smiled as she pulled him into a hug. "I guess this is a big day for you, huh? First winning the sports festival, then your first date!"

"Uh... yeah..." he nodded. She wasn't acting very surprised.

"Oh, well now I'm even more excited to meet her parents!" she said as she turned and started putting groceries away again. "Oh, and the sports festival for all 3 grades is recorded on the DVR for you to watch after we're done with this."

"Thanks," he smiled.

And so, after helping put away the last of the groceries, Izuku plopped onto their couch to watch the festival. Of course he was impressed, and made note of plenty of cool Quirks and what people did with them. He tried to watch for a second year girl that looked like the mochi shop's cashier, but couldn't quite pick her out. Anyway, none of the top four looked similar to him. Then in the third year showing, he did take note of the blonde boy whose clothes... fell off. Well that's an interesting Quirk.

After viewing those it was almost time for the Urarakas to arrive. He helped his mom finish with some of the food prep, and they finished it up with time to spare. All that was left to do when the doorbell rang was to let it sit for a couple of minutes. Also the doorbell meant that they had arrived, and Izuku was once again nervous. Had Ochako told her parents that they decided it was a date? What if she didn't, and if his mom mentioned it they would get mad at her for not saying it?

"Coming!" Inko called as she made her way to the door. She opened it and smiled at the three people outside. "Ah, Ochako! And Mr. and Mrs. Uraraka, I presume."

"Mrs. Midoriya," Mrs. Uraraka smiled. "It's so nice of ya to offer us dinner like this!"

"Oh of course!" she laughed. "Always nice to have guests! Especially since Ochako is around so often, it's nice to finally meet you two."

"Hm? She's around a lot?" Mr. Uraraka raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, they work out together on the weekends," Inko said. "Go on runs, exercise, you know."

"Honey, Ochako already told us 'bout that," Mrs. Uraraka laughed lightly.

"Hey Deku," Ochako greeted with a smile as the green teen showed up behind his mom at the door, before lightly blushing and glancing away.

"Hi Uraraka," he smiled. Then he slightly dipped his head to her parents, "Mr. Uraraka, Mrs. Uraraka."

"Young man," he nodded.

"Hey there Midoriya!" Mrs. Uraraka beamed. "I never asked, but do ya mind if I call ya Izuku?"

"No, it's fine," he smiled.

"Great!"

"Anyways, why don't you come in?" Inko offered as she stepped aside from the doorway. "Dinner is just about done."

The two families made their way to the dinner table and made idle chatter until Inko began setting the table and serving the food: her homemade katsudon—Izuku's favorite—and red rice.

"Mmm! This is really good!" Ochako exclaimed as she rested her cheek on her hand. "I can see why it's Deku's favorite food!"

"It really is good!" Mrs. Uraraka agreed. "Inko—is it okay if I call ya that?—ya just gotta give me this recipe!"

"Yes, it's fine," Inko chuckled. "And I'd be glad to share the recipe."

"Well I'm sure we have a couple of recipes of our own to trade," Mr. Uraraka said.

"Oh for sure!" Mrs. Uraraka agreed.

"Well that's nice and all, but we really aren't here to talk about recipes," Inko said with a wave of her hand. "We're here to celebrate these two doing so well in the festival!"

The two teens, who had started quietly talking about work-out plans for the next couple of days, flinched at the sudden hand gesture Inko threw their way.

"Ehe, don't lump us together," Ochako giggled as she scratched her neck. "Deku's the one that won the tournament."

"Yeah, but getting into the tournament alone is a big accomplishment," Izuku said. "Considering there are hundreds of first year students and only 16 got into it."

"Yeah Ochako, you did great!" Inko nodded.

"But the obstacle race round!" Mrs. Uraraka exclaimed clapping her cheeks. "You were holdin' onto him so hard!"

"M-Mom!" Ochako blushed. "I-It's embarrassin' enough if you don't keep bringin' it up, y'know?"

"But you were so cute!" her mother laughed.

"No, I looked like I was holding on for my life," she sighed. "It looked pathetic."

"Listen, Ochako," Mr. Uraraka said seriously. "... Ya _did_ look pretty cute."

"Not you too!"

"I didn't think you looked too bad on the replay Uraraka," Izuku offered. "It was your first time going that fast, so I think you actually handled it pretty well."

"Yeah what he said," Mrs. Uraraka said.

"You guys teamed up for both of the first two rounds didn't you?" Inko asked.

"Yeah, it made sense to because of how well our Quirks cooperate," Izuku said.

"But only for you," Mr. Uraraka said. "Her Quirk just lets you maneuver better, right?"

"That was the best way to use it in the festival, yeah," Izuku said. "But in real life there would be plenty of situations to use it on her instead of me, or even other people or objects."

"That so?" he grunted before taking another bite.

"Um, y-yeah," Izuku said with a nod.

"Ah, this is real good," Mrs. Uraraka said as she got seconds. "Oh, I can get more right?"

"Yes, I made extra on purpose," Inko nodded.

"Good, cause this is _so_ good!"

"Glad you like it," Inko chuckled.

"So," Izuku said quietly to Ochako, "you think you can keep up the whole 4 kilometers tomorrow?"

"Oh be quiet," she sighed. "You know I can't. But how should we do this? We have two days off, so should we only run one and not the other? We do have the weekend coming up after Friday so we'll do it again soon enough."

"Yeah... How about the first day we don't run? We can work out our legs and back, maybe core too. Then the next day we can run then do some upper body."

"We'll do legs the day before running?" Ochako giggled. "That was rough the last time we did that."

"But it helps loosen the leg muscles," Izuku argued. "And it only hurts for the first half mile at the most."

"Meh, fine," she relented. "So... I wonder if we're doing anything special on Friday."

"Hm? You mean aside from getting the internship requests?" Izuku asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Think about it. It's two days off, one day at school, then the weekend right after. It's only one day at school, so it has to be _something_ special, right?"

"Not necessarily?" Izuku mused. "Present Mic might just skip out on teaching English, but other than that I don't know what we might do."

"What was his name Ochako?" Mrs. Uraraka suddenly burst into their conversation.

"H-Huh?" Ochako asked. "Whose name?"

"That guy ya fought in the tournament that had the red hair," Mrs. Uraraka said while making quick hand motions around her hair.

"Oh, Kirishima," she said.

"YEAH, that Kirishima boy! She just threw 'im straight inta the sky!"

"Hm, hm," Mr. Uraraka nodded with a smile. "That's ma girl!"

"Oh, but that frog girl!" Mrs. Uraraka hit the table (lightly). "She got ya out!"

"Y-Yeah, she deserved the win," Ochako laughed and scratched her neck.

"And Izuku!"

"Yes Mrs. Uraraka?" he tilted his head.

"You know you're kinda a celebrity!" she said.

"Ah, yeah, I'm aware," Izuku said with a small blush.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask," Inko said, "how are things on your social media?"

"A-Ah, well... Someone found my actual Twitter account, and I've been getting followers nonstop since about 3 PM."

"Oh goodness!" Inko gasped. "That sounds exciting! You really are like a celebrity!"

"It's kinda embarrassing," he said. "But this... It's just extra training for when we become heroes. Because we'll have to deal with publicity and everything once we become pros."

"But Izuku, your fight with that ice boy!" Mrs. Uraraka exclaimed. "That was really cool ya know!"

"Ah, thanks," he scratched the back of his neck.

"That boy was the son of Endeavor?" Mr. Uraraka mused. "Musta been tough out there."

"Yeah, it was," Izuku said. It really _was_ tough, and not just physically... The whole day was catching up to Izuku now.

"Hey Deku, you okay?" Ochako asked, seeing him leaning on his hand and sighing.

"Yeah, just tired," he sighed. Then he smiled at her, "A lot happened today, you know?"

"Y-Yeah," she smiled too and blushed a bit.

"Oh, you mean the date?!" Mrs. Uraraka asked as she leaned across the table.

"H-How did ya even hear that?!" Ochako asked.

"Oh yeah, Izuku did mention that they had decided their little lunch outing was a 'date'," Inko said.

"Well he's already popular, so he's probably going to make a lot of money once he's a hero!" Mr. Uraraka laughed. "So I'm okay with it."

"Dad, that's an awful reason to be okay with it!"

"A-And I wasn't even talking about that," Izuku clarified. "It's just been a long day in general."

Ochako glanced at the adults then took out her phone. They'd already been there for more than an hour, and she was, admittedly, feeling tired as well.

"Hey Daddy," Ochako said to her father who was sitting next to her. "I'm gettin' a little tired too. Could we go soon?"

"Yeah, that's alright," he nodded. "First let's let yer mom exchange whatever recipes she wants to."

And that's exactly what they did. Inko gave Mrs. Uraraka her katsudon recipe, and in return received two recipes—one for donburi, and one for daifuku in case she ever needed it.

"I'll see you tomorrow Deku," Ochako smiled as she stepped out of the apartment. "I'll try to keep up on the run!"

"Yeah, see you then," Izuku said with a wave.

_

The next day Izuku and Ochako decided against running. They did run the second day though, and Ochako was able to keep up for 3 kilometers out of the 4. That was good, and so was the workout, but the adrenaline from exercise did little to prepare them for the news they saw online towards the end of their workout.

Ingenium was permanently crippled, and he would retire as a hero.

Izuku and Ochako each sent Tenya text messages of course, but this time received no reply. Izuku looked back at the text he'd gotten from his friend two days prior, and confirmed: Tenya never did say that Ingenium would be alright, only that his injuries weren't life-threatening. But despite his worry,he received no reply that day all the way until he had to fall asleep.

The next day, perhaps fittingly, was raining. Aside from the many people on the train that recognized and congratulated Izuku, plus the now constant buzz on his phone, Izuku saw no reason for the day to be anything but gloomy.

" _Everyone on the train was so energetic,_ " he sighed as he walked up to U.A. carrying his umbrella. " _I wonder if Iida will be here... He has a good reason not to show, after all_."

"GOOD MORNING MIDORIYA!" Tenya called as he rushed past Izuku. "This is no time for an idle stroll! We could be late!"

"Iida!" Izuku called as he ran behind his classmate. "Wait, late? We still have five minutes before the first bell!"

"U.A. students must make it a point to arrive ten minutes early!" Tenya exclaimed as he stopped in front of his locker.

"Yeah, I guess," Izuku said. He closed his umbrella and shook it off before saying, "Hey, Iida..."

"You needn't worry about my brother," he cut him off as he took off his poncho's hood and smiled at him. "He's in good spirits despite everything. I apologize if I caused any unnecessary concern for either myself or him."

Then, before Izuku could say anything, he quickly turned and made his way to class. Izuku joined him soon enough, as did the majority of 1-A. Ochako, when she showed up, also showed concern over Tenya's brother, but he told her the same thing that he had told Izuku.

"Anyways, I had a ton of people recognize me on my way here," Mina said as she walked in with a few other students. "I mean, they all pretty much said 'nice try', but it was still cool."

"Oh, me too!" Toru exclaimed. "All the stares I got were so embarrassing!"

"I somehow doubt that," Mashirao commented.

"What about Midoriya though?" Eijiro said excitedly. "He's totally a celebrity!"

"Oh yeah, Midori!" Mina called, grabbing the green teen's attention. "How are you liking all of those Twitter followers?"

"I dunno, I guess I just wish I didn't have to mute my Twitter notifications to stop by phone from buzzing," he said.

"Sounds tiring," Hitoshi sighed.

"How did they even figure out which account was his?" Denki pondered.

"Ehehe, I wonder!" Mina announced.

"Ashido, you didn't," Eijiro said.

"Well, I didn't do a _lot_ of things," she giggled. "But I _might've_ announced to the whole world what Izuku's account is called."

"I don't know if you did him a favor or not," Rikido mused.

"It's totally a favor!" Mina said. "Who wouldn't want to be constantly observed by thousands of strangers online?!"

"Mina," Ochako sighed.

"Oh, Ochako!" Mina whirled around towards the brunette. "Speaking of Midori–!"

"No no no! Silence!" Toru argued as she covered Mina's mouth. She whispered, " _She can't know we eavesdropped on them_!"

"But Toruuuuu!" Mina whined as she tried to wrestle from her grip.

Ochako slightly blushed at the mention of their green-haired classmate, who she realized she hadn't said good morning to yet. Well, might as well.

"Good morning," Aizawa sighed as he walked in. "And shut up and sit down."

' _Guess I won't say good morning to him then_ ,' Ochako thought with a pout.

"I'm glad to see you're better Aizawa Sensei, kero," Tsuyu said, noting the fact that he was no longer covered head-to-toe in bandages and only had a small scar under one eye.

"Yeah I'm better, although the old lady's treatment was... excessive," he sighed. "But nevermind that. Today we have a special hero informatics class."

"Bleh, hero law and stuff?" Eijiro sighed under his breath. "I stuck at this stuff."

"A _special_ class? What's that mean?" Denki asked. "I hope it's not a pop quiz!"

"Today, you'll all come up with your hero names."

"WOOHOOO! YEAH!" the class cheered.

"BUT FIRST!" Aizawa announced as his hair stood up on end and his eyes flashed red, silencing the room. "Concerning the pro heroes that'll be drafting you for internships... That's based on who they think will be ready to join the official ranks of heroes after another two or three years of experience. So, it's essentially their way of showing that they're interested in your futures. But there's still plenty of time for them to lose interest and revoke their offers. It happens all the time."

"They're just flaunting their power at this point," Hanta sighed.

"So that means that those of us who are ahead now will have to try harder to stay ahead in the future?" Toru asked.

"Exactly," Aizawa nodded. "Anyways, here are the draft numbers. There's usually more of an even spread, but... There were a few standouts this year, as I'm sure you're aware."

Izuku Midoriya–5,347

Katsuki Bakugo–3,960

Shoto Todoroki–2,878

Tsuyu Asui–354

Momo Yaoyorozu–215

Ochako Uraraka–76

Tenya Iida–70

Mina Ashido–37

Denki Kaminari–24

Hanta Sero–15

Eijiro Kirishima–13

Fumikage Tokoyami–1

"Woah woah woah, why does Deku have so many more?!" Katsuki shouted.

"He displayed better strategy," Aizawa said quickly. "Besides the fact that he placed first in every event and is easily the most well-known U.A. first year student at this point."

"Man, they're all in a whole other league," Denki sighed.

"The pros simply have no eye for real talent," Yuga said.

"Hey, why's Todo so high up?" Mina asked. "He got out in the second round."

"Well, he showed an immense amount of power and _did_ almost beat the one who ended up winning it all," Aizawa guessed.

"Well done as always, Todoroki," Momo said with a nod.

"Hmph, it's probably just my dad's influence," he sighed.

"OH MY GOD IIDA WE GOT OFFERS!" Ochako gushed as she shook Tenya's shoulders.

"Yes, it is exciting!" he agreed.

"I wonder who asked for you Tokoyami," Rikido mused. "You didn't even make it into the tourney."

"It is indeed perplexing," the bird headed teen tilted his head forwards.

"Anyways, now that that announcement is out of the way," Aizawa sighed, "whether or not you were picked, you'll all be working with pros. There's a predetermined list of 40 heroes that you can pick from who will be accepting interns. And I do realize that you have... extra hands-on experience with villains, but seeing the pros in action and helping them out will still be more than beneficial."

"Oh, so our hero names will be used when we work with the heroes!" Rikido realized.

"Ooh, this'll be fun!" Ochako pumped her fist.

"They may only be temporary," Aizawa said, "but you still want to pick names that are appropriate–"

"Or else you'll face REAL HELL!!" Midnight yelled as she burst in. "Sorry Eraser, you were taking your time."

"It's fine," he sighed.

"Anyways, these names might still end up being your permanent hero names," she said to the class. "It's happened before, you know."

"Yeah. Anyways, Midnight is much better with social things than I am, so she'll be in charge of deciding whether or not your names are appropriate. What do you want to be? What's your identity? These names should go towards cementing your character as a hero, like 'All Might'."

They passed white boards back down the rows of desks, and began contemplating their name choices. It came easy to some, while others quickly became overwhelmed by the pressure. 15 minutes later, Midnight began allowing people to present their name choices.

"Alright, we can start with whoever is ready!" Midnight called. "Come up and show the class your name!"

Yuga immediately stood and began walking to the front, where he dramatically halted and slammed his whiteboard down on the desk, which read (in English): "The Shining Hero: I Cannot Stop Twinkling!"

"It's a whole sentence!" someone shouted. "Besides, are you French or English? Pick one!"

"Hm, you should take out the 'I' and replace 'cannot' with 'can't'," Midnight advised.

"Wait, that's okay?!"

"Well then here's mine!" Mina said as she ran up. "Ridley Hero: Alien Queen!"

"From Aliens?" Midnight asked. "Why, because her blood was acidic? That's terrible! It should be _heroic_ , not villainous. Besides, James Cameron directed Aliens, not Ridley Scott. He only directed the first one."

"Darn," she sighed and stepped down.

"I'm next, kero," Tsuyu said. "I've had this figured out since primary School: The Rainy Season Hero, Froppy!"

"That's so cute!" Midnight gushed. "And super approachable! Perfect!"

After that, the names started coming in one after the other. Shoto and Tenya each only put down their names, oddly, and Katsuki's "Bakusatsuo", or King Explosion Murder, was unfortunately declined.

"Ah, my turn," Ochako said nervously as she walked up. "I came up with Uravity!"

"That's a double pun! Nice!" Midnight said. "Okay, so who's next? All that's left is Bakugo's revision, Midoriya and Shinso. Wait, is Shinso asleep?"

"Hm?" Izuku turned around. He nudged his sleeping classmate, "Hey Shinso, you pick a hero name?"

"Hm? Yeah," the purple haired teen sighed before picking up his whiteboard and walking to the front of the room. "I went with Mockingbird."

"Isn't that backwards?" Mina asked. "Since you're the one that's always getting annoyed by us and asking for quiet."

"But he activates his Quirk by getting a response to a question," Eijiro said, "so in a real situation it actually makes sense as a strategy."

"Ugh, whatever," he sighed before moving back to his seat.

"Bakugo? Midoriya?" Midnight asked.

Izuku hesitantly stood and made his way to the front of the room. Then, he placed the whiteboard on the front table.

The Telekinetic Hero: Deku

"Woah man, you sure about that?" Eijiro asked.

"You could be called that for life, you know?" Denki said.

"Yeah, I know," Izuku said. "I used to hate this nickname, but... Someone helped me see it in a new light, and it makes me... really happy. I'm the Deku who always does his best!"

Ochako's face flushed and she felt something akin to immeasurable joy filling up her chest.

Katsuki made his way up next, "If I can't be King Explosion Murder, then I'll be _Lord_ Explosion Murder!"

"Still no!" Midnight stopped him right there.

He ended up going with simply "Explosion King" after several more revisions.

_

"Hey Deku, you decided on anyone for your internship yet?" Ochako asked as she walked over to his desk when class was being let out for lunch.

"I... kinda have a lot of requests to go through," he chuckled.

"Yeah, I get that," Ochako giggled. "I was thinking of going to Gunhead's hero office."

"Oh yeah, you were thinking of getting better at close-quarters combat and grapples to make better use of your Quirk, right?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Lucky he requested me, ehehe!"

"I actually do have a couple of ideas," Izuku said. "You know, three of the top five heroes requested me!"

"Really?!" she asked, wide-eyed. "I guess we already knew All Might and Endeavor wouldn't, so that's pretty much three for three!"

"Actually, Endeavor _did_ request me," Izuku said.

"What?" Shoto asked as he stood up from his desk behind them.

_

 **Notes:** **Full disclosure, I didn't even think of Endeavor when I started writing this chapter. It just kinda made sense that he would request Izuku since he beat Shoto and won the tourney. I could totally imagine him saying "Look Shoto, you should be as good as him." But no, that's not the internship Izuku will pick.** **And also no, it wouldn't apply to canon Bakugo because Shoto didn't use his fire against him.**

 **Anyways, sorry again for the wait and I hope you don't mind another one! Or indefinite amounts, since there may never be a time when I have as much free time as in the past again. Yay!**

 **As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	22. The Internships

**I'm** **alive! And back with a new chapter! Okay, this was the first time a really big delay occurred. Which I'm sorry about, but getting it out before New Year's isn't so bad. Anyways, I didn't expect this to happen while I was inactive, but**

 **THANKS FOR 2K FOLLOWERS! And 1.6k favorites while we're at it! It means a lot to me, considering that we just kept on growing despite my inactivity.**

 **Review** **time!**

 **ElMexicanoAmericano: Remember, Hawks isn't in the top 5 at this point... Also life isn't bad, it's actually great! Just really time-consuming compared to the way it used to be.**

 **Reverseflash** **: Yeaaaah it's slow updates from now on. But hey, I'm not gone at least. And maybe I'll be a _little_ more consistent than Viridescent.**

 **LordXG3** **: Yeah, I know you understand. Also I do have someone specific in mind for Tokoyami, although I can't say it's a split from canon lol. Also I have started rereading your story! But give me time, I'm slowly but surely making my way through.**

 **ILiekFishes** **: Please don't cry**

 **Jaykid1: Izuku will get OFA** **when I say so.**

 **Darashiko: I don't know if Deku has an official Twitter name... If he does then I don't know it.**

 **someUntel** **: Red rice is a dish that's generally served in Japan during a special occasion or celebration.**

 **CaptureGod-Otamegane** **: Don't worry, Gran Torino will still be here. Eventually.**

 **sabiesma89: Shhhh, it's a secret**

 **NeoGamer93: The story isn't bad, but the lack of proofreading makes it kinda hard to read. Also, you should add more explanatory paragraphs instead of relying too much on dialogue, since it can be hard to tell what's going on sometimes.**

 **moonstar31548: Yes, _VERY_ different from Izuku's canon hero name**

 **CanadianBlitz: Yeah, she's a damn blessing. Confidence boost activated.**

 **Ander Arias: Pretty much all of your assumptions are correct lol. And as for Shinso's name, it's because of his activation method. He taunts his enemies into replying in order to activate his Quirk. If you want a more literal connection, then there _is_ a certain piece of support gear he's getting...**

 **KahunaLagoona: First, thanks. Second, fluff is taking a backseat for now, sorry.**

 **sk2dydid: That's the spirit!**

 **sunsetskywrites: You're correct. No, I'm not changing it.**

 **Cieszesi Niezmiernie: Me too buddy, me too.**

 **~Shoutout time~**

 **Since I'm taking my time between updates, I'll actually recommend 2 stories this week! The first is _Deku The Hunter: Support Hero_ by NicktheHuman! It's essentially, "What if Deku didn't save Katsuki from the sludge villain?" and it's really good!**

 **The next is _Yūrei no Eiyū_ by fandommaniac22! It's kinda the opposite. "What if Katsuki accidentally bullied Deku into suicide?" It's pretty dark, but it's also good! And especially with the last chapter, it looks like some questions are being answered!**

 **~End shoutout time~**

 **Well here's the chapter! Hope it was worth the wait!**

 _I do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

—

 _The Internships_

Shoto was upset, angry, on the verge of accidentally activating his flames, and on his way to have a word with his father. And he had no idea why any of those were the case. Sure, his old man had extended an internship invitation to Izuku, but that wasn't any real reason to set him off, right? Maybe his emotional problems with his father were worse than he realized. That little revelation could be set aside for the moment though, since he had more important things to do.

Shoto opened the door to Endeavor's training room—normally the only place that the hero could be found when he wasn't on the job or sleeping—and half-shut his eyes at the burn of smoke and heat coming from the room. His father heard the noise of the door somehow from over the roar of his flames, and quickly dialed them back as he looked at his son.

"Shoto," he said gruffly. "... You don't normally come to me. What do you want?"

"You requested Midoriya for the hero internships," Shoto said in his trademark flat tone. "Why?"

"Hmph, why is that of your concern?" Endeavor scoffed. "Worried that he'll show you up on our patrols like he did in the tournament?"

"Not at all," Shoto stated. "He won't be visiting your agency."

" _What_?" Endeavor asked, his voice gaining a bit of heat but not quite shouting. "Then who is he interning with?"

"Why is that any of your concern?" Shoto asked. "Upset that you aren't good enough for him?"

"SHOTO!" Endeavor shouted as his flames spiked momentarily, before he regained his composure. "It's none of my concern, I was simply curious. I don't care much for that boy, but he _is_ a fine example to you on how much better you could do by using your full Quirk."

"Don't pull him into this," Shoto said, narrowing his eyes.

"Tch," Endeavor clicked his tongue before firing another blast and frying a training dummy. "Is there anything else?"

"... No, that's all," Shoto sighed before turning and opening the door outside again.

"Oh, there was another thing I wanted to ask you about," Endeavor called, causing his son to turn towards him again. "I heard that you went to visit your mother."

"... What of it?"

"You shouldn't do that again," he said loudly. "That crazy bitch already permanently scarred you. We can't afford to risk any worse damage, else you stop being able to fight. We're lucky she only burned you the first time."

"Mother is fine," Shoto said. "She's doing well, and we... talked. And for the record, I don't blame her for this." He touched his scarred skin.

Endeavor let out a heavy sigh. "... Then you plan to go back and see her again?"

"I'll make my own choices," Shoto said.

"... Geh, fine," Endeavor grunted before resuming his training.

—

"Everybody have their costumes?" Aizawa asked as he led the students onto the train platform where they'd all be traveling from.

"Yeaaaah!" Mina exclaimed.

"Don't slur your words Ashido," he scolded. "Now remember, wearing your costumes in public is prohibited until you have permission from your supervising hero. Still, you have to make sure not to drop them anywhere." He shooed them away as he sighed, "Behave yourselves, now go on."

The students all began moving their separate ways. Many were taking the same route as each other, at least partially, so some groups formed on their ways out. But Tenya, much to the interest of both Izuku and Ochako, began walking away alone. They both caught up to him, and Izuku grabbed his shoulder to get his attention.

"Oh, Midoriya and Uraraka! I don't believe I wished you well on your internships!" he said with a small smile.

"Well, no," Izuku said, "but we just wanted to let you know that you can talk to either of us any time you want. If there's ever anything bothering you or you just want company, we're here."

"Yeah," Ochako nodded. "We're your friends, y'know?"

"Ah," he said, losing his smile. He looked to be considering something, before he nodded and smiled slightly again, "Of course. You as well."

And then they all went their separate ways. Izuku rode on the bullet train for about an hour before finally getting off near Tokyo. Was he nervous? Of course he was. There were always heroes he saw locally, then there were the teachers at U.A., then there were heroes like All Might and Endeavor who he knew through special circumstances. But this... he had made the choice himself, yet he wasn't exactly sure how to approach this particular hero. He requested Izuku, so he had thought that would have been enough to calm him down when it came to the moment of truth.

It wasn't.

He walked into the building, a relatively plain and unassuming 5-story business, and up to the reception desk.

"Hm? Hello, how might I—?" the receptionist began asking before she recognized the U.A. costume case and—of course—the famous student who was holding it. "Ah, you must be here for the hero internship! We're honored you accepted our agency!"

"Ah, yeah," he smiled. "Glad to be requested. So, um, where should I go?"

"Oh, take the elevator over there to the 4th floor," she said, jutting her thumb towards an elevator that was just emptying its most recent haul of people. "Take a left and it'll be behind the large red doors. No need to knock, he'll be expecting you."

"Thank you," he said with a nod before going on his way.

The hall was busy and so was the elevator, so Izuku had to wait for about 5 minutes, pressed against the wall to avoid the foot traffic, before the elevator finally reached the first floor again. And then he had to wait for the flood of people to empty out before he entered himself along with several others. Izuku didn't particularly think the elevator could hold the amount of people that had walked out of it, but as he rode up to the 4th floor and stopped at every one in between, he saw the size of the crowd in the elevator go from manageable to packed tight and then back to manageable again.

He finally reached his stop and followed the crowd into a large hallway—much larger than the one downstairs, he could almost consider it a room instead of a hallway. He did as the receptionist had said and turned left. He saw the wooden double doors immediately, and walked up to them. They were ornate, and painted a dark red with golden accents. Izuku grabbed the handle and pulled one of the doors open. Inside was an unexpected—if apt—scene. The far wall and right wall were completely glass, letting sunlight in and giving the room a natural look. Oh, or that might have been the plants everywhere, or the rocks of the indoor zen garden, or the wooden patio that Izuku found himself on. And on the largest rock of the garden, sitting in an almost cliché meditation pose, was the current #5 pro hero, Edgeshot.

"U-Um, hello," Izuku said hesitantly as he walked to the edge of the hardwood. "I'm Izuku Midoriya, from the hero course at U.A."

Edgeshot's one visible eye opened and quickly focused on the student. "Ah yes, Midoriya," he said. "I'm pleased that you accepted my offer. I'm sure you had others, after all."

"I had a few, yeah," Izuku chuckled sheepishly with a scratch to the back of his neck.

"Did you have any from heroes ranked above me?"

"Yes, I did. I got invitations from Best Jeanist and Endeavor."

"Endeavor? Really?" Even in Edgeshot's one visible eye, surprise was evident. "You received a request from Endeavor, yet you chose to accompany my agency? Well then, I suppose you aren't here just because of my high rank," the hero said as he stood up on his feet. "To what do I owe this pleasure then?"

"I... had some vague ideas for new applications of my quirk," Izuku said. "But I really don't have any idea how I should approach it."

"And you think I might have the knowledge that you need?"

"Yes, but not only that," Izuku admitted. "I've been having trouble focusing recently. My quirk needs pretty precise control, and I'm worried that it might get in the way. I know that you're all... zen and everything, so I was hoping that you would be able to help me—"

"To quiet your mind?" he cut the student off. "I may be able to assist there, yes. We can start immediately."

"Immediately?" Izuku echoed, excited that he'd be able to get started.

"Yes, but first I'd like you to talk to you about whatever is distracting your mind. What is it, exactly?"

"E-Erm, I don't know—"

"Anything new, different, or otherwise unnatural to what normally happens in your life could knock your mind 'off-balance', so to speak. Or, it could be an old problem that's festered long enough to bother you in a distracting manner. Did anything happen that fits any of those descriptions?"

"Well, there are a few..."

Edgeshot used his Quirk to zip over to a round wooden table on the patio, and sat down. An inclination of his head requested that Izuku also sit down in the chair across from him, and the young hero-in-training did so, setting his hero costume case on the floor next to him.

—

Ochako Uraraka set her clothes down on the bed in her room at the Gunhead hero agency. She had gone through the orientation, and had just changed into her hero costume to begin her first training session with Gunhead. The hero was satisfied with her reasons for going to his agency, and seemed to agree that the applications of hand-to-hand combat in conjunction with her Quirk would be invaluable to her.

She thought about Deku for a moment. He was, no doubt in her mind, working hard to become a great hero at that moment. She felt her cheeks get warm as she thought about his great determination, then slapped them to psych herself up. She wasn't falling behind.

—

Edgeshot had to admit, Izuku did have a lot of things on his mind. An ongoing rivalry with a boy he repeatedly referred to as "Kacchan", his worry over the home life of the Todoroki family (yeah, Edgeshot worried about that too, every time he spoke with the number 2 hero), Ingenium's younger brother seemingly withdrawing from his friends ever since the pro's career-ending encounter with the Hero Killer, and finally the fact that Izuku had recently gone on a date with one of his classmates.

Edgeshot didn't see the rivalry as a bad thing—it should spur Izuku forward if anything—but the others were certainly obstacles. At least his worry over his friends told Edgeshot that he had a kind heart, although those were the kinds of things that he couldn't let distract him when on an operation. As far as girls go... Edgeshot had no experience.

He wasn't a "ninja" just because it fit his Quirk or personality, he wanted to become a ninja-based hero because he was always a ninja-loving dork who loved ancient history relating to them. They just seemed so cool to him. His ninja-otaku personality essentially made everyone ignore him in school until he got into U.A., but even then he had no luck with the ladies. One time he asked out a classmate as part of a Truth or Dare game, but...

 _He could still hear their mocking laughter._

So he couldn't give the boy any advice on the matter and told him not to think about it. Like that'll help.

"Woah," Izuku said aloud as he looked down at his newly donned hero costume. "They've changed it a little bit along with repairing it."

His jumpsuit was a more durable material than before. It had small white shoulder pads, and the white lines on it were now black. His respirator was now a sleek metal design rather than his earlier plastic one, and without the obvious reference to All Might's smile. He felt the extra weight on his belt and grinned. His requested tools must've been approved.

"Now that you have that on, try clearing your mind," Edgeshot suggested. "Try to learn that you want to focus when you wear this. It's easier if there's a mental connection."

"Okay," he nodded. ' _Now, how to clear my mind... Just ignore it. I can't do anything about those problems now, so they aren't important. It's completely out of my hands for now. I wonder if the others might be thinking about them... NO, focus! Don't think, don't think, don't think, don't think—!_ '

"No!" Edgeshot cut off his train of thought. "Don't think about not thinking! If you do that, then you won't be not thinking! You just have to stop thinking about that stuff altogether and focus on the here and now. It should be as natural as possible."

"O-Okay," Izuku nodded. "Sorry..." ' _Don't think about ignoring the other problems... Instead, just focus more on what's in front of me..._ '

—

"Tenya," Manual sighed, "I'm not joking about this. I realize that you must think that I don't understand, but you have to think about your future as a hero."

"... I know," Tenya nodded.

The two were approaching Manual's agency after their first day patrolling. The day was quiet for the most part. They stopped a purse snatcher and investigated a ruckus down an alley, which turned out to be a few kids rough-housing, but there were no real developments. Normally that's good, but Tenya was obviously disgruntled.

"I'll prepare dinner for you," the hero offered. "Go take a shower in the meanwhile."

Tenya shoved off to the bathroom, and Manual made some pasta with meatballs. When Tenya didn't show up for a while after the water shut off, he got worried and checked on him. He was already asleep. With a sigh of disappointment, Manual left the dish by his bedside before going off to file the night's paperwork with a sidekick.

—

Izuku hit the sheets with a deep exhale. He hadn't actually done much physical training—they really didn't have enough time—but he was mentally exhausted. Trying to calm his mind was more taxing than he thought. He was so used to analyzing everything that it was hard to turn that function off. Edgeshot told him they would work on it more the next day, which he was dreading, but he was too tired to think about that. His eyes were already heavy, and as he drifted off, he thought about everything that he would have to not think about. Then his mind rested on Ochako just before he dozed off.

—

"Oi, what the fuck does Deku think he's pulling?" Katsuki mumbled as he sat through another application of hair gel. "The bastard beat me in the tournament, then got a request from Endeavor. Now he goes to the agency of the hero ranked _below_ Best Jeanist, which I bet is way better than this shit, just to fucking mock me?!"

"I don't know Midoriya myself," Best Jeanist mused, "but based on the mannerisms he showed at the festival, I doubt he'd even think of that."

"Shut the fuck up!"

"Behave!" Best Jeanist scolded.

Katsuki only complied because he was too tired to argue; the pro didn't let him sleep the previous night until he gave in and allowed some hair styling.

—

"Finally... Just over 3 hours and you've cleared your mind," Edgeshot sighed. He could tell just by looking (he was experienced after all) that Izuku was fully focused on his training. "Good, now stop focusing."

"W-What?" Izuku asked. "Why?"

"That focus is what will help your precision. No other training is helpful in that regard. As for other things you can do..." He dropped a few books in front of him. "These are all about physics or anatomy. Learn where pressure points are and how physics affects objects, then use your intense focus to make use of that knowledge. We can clear your mind again after an hour or two of studying. Then, lunch."

"Y-Yes sir, Edgeshot," he sighed as he picked up an anatomy book.

—

Shoto leaned against the side of a building as his father talked with police about a criminal he had just caught. Even though he didn't like his old man, Shoto had to admit he was impressive. That had been the 7th villain they'd caught, and it wasn't even noon yet.

Endeavor walked back and looked down at his son. "What is it with that glare you're giving me? Still sulking that I requested your friend?"

Shoto had genuinely not realized that he was glaring at his father. He quickly looked down.

"No... Just observing," he said. "You're certainly a top hero."

"... You can be too," he said gruffly before setting off down the street again. "Come on Shoto. Let's continue our patrol."

—

"Well done Midoriya," Edgeshot praised as his student relaxed and breathed. "You were able to reign yourself in within 10 minutes that time."

"Hah... better than the last time..." Izuku grinned.

"Better than the last 6 times," the hero said. "Alright, that's enough for today. Go wash up and then eat dinner. Tomorrow we're going to go out on patrol."

"We are?" Izuku's eyes lit up.

"Yes," he nodded. "We'll go to several different spots throughout the day, so you can get used to adapting to any new place rapidly."

"Alright!" he cheered. "I can't wait to go on a patrol!"

"Yeah, well don't wait to take a shower either," the pro said. "You're stinking up my dojo."

—

Ochako was exhausted from everything Gunhead had thrown at her. She was already sore, so she dreaded what it would feel like in the morning. She just got out of the shower and changed, and now was laying down in bed.

Despite her exhaustion, she was restless for a while. Everything Gunhead taught her was swirling in her head and she was struggling to keep everything down. She had a few more days with him, but she didn't want to dedicate much time to relearning everything the next day. She needed to focus on working hard, just like Deku.

Deku...

 _Ochako: Hey Deku, just wanted to see how your internship is going. Hope it's going well! Mine is good, but it's real hard work haha_

' _Just a text to check in,_ ' she thought. ' _Nuthin wrong with that..._ '

She waited anxiously for a solid 50 seconds before the 'typing' notification popped up.

 _Izuku: Hi Uraraka. My internship is really tiring, but I think it's been worthwhile. Edgeshot said that we're going on a patrol tomorrow, so I'll get some work in the field._

 _Ochako_ _: Lucky! I wish I could go on a patrol, but Gunhead said I need to train for my entire time here to really make improvements._

 _Izuku: That makes sense since you're learning combat from the ground up._

 _Ochako: Yeah, guess so._

Ochako's finger hovered over the keyboard as she contemplated what her next text would be. There were plenty of questions in her head, ones that she wasn't brave enough to ask in person. They had gone on a date, so what did that mean? Could they go on another one soon? Were they just friends or—?

 _Izuku: I'm struggling to stay awake rn haha, so I'm gonna go to bed and rest up for tomorrow. It sounds like you should too. Goodnight Uraraka!_

 _Ochako: Yeah, goodnight Deku_

She sighed as she set her phone down on the nightstand and plugged it in. She hadn't been thinking about it much earlier, but ever since the moment she thought about how she needed to keep up with Deku he had started to fill her thoughts more and more.

She respected him, and looked up to him, and thought he was the coolest guy she knew. Even though he seemed so amazing, he was also so nice, and warm, and dorky in such a cute way. She liked him. A lot. But the problems and questions plaguing her mind eventually lost against her exhaustion, and she passed out.

—

The train ride to Izuku's first patrol area was relatively short, but long enough for him to focus his mind. Once they arrived, Edgeshot essentially told him to follow and keep quiet. They travelled along rooftops, watching over the city below. Izuku was able to use his Quirk on himself enough to keep up, since his focus seemed to lessen the pain he regularly felt from the act.

"Aah!" he heard a man's voice yell from the left.

Edgeshot apparently heard it as well, since he immediately leapt in its direction. Izuku followed, and landed next to the pro on the sidewalk. He glanced up at the coffee shop in front of where they landed (there was outdoor seating), but then immediately looked back down as he saw the threat. Sitting at one of the tables was a stone statue of a man, and standing across from him was a rather tall woman with snakes in her hair. Izuku readily assumed that she had a Medusa Quirk, and that the statue was once a living, breathing man.

"Deku," Edgeshot said quickly, "don't look. I'll handle this."

"Yes sir!" Izuku replied, but the hero was no longer next to him.

"Alright, it's handled," Edgeshot said.

Izuku looked up and saw the lady on the floor with closed eyes, and Edgeshot reforming his body over her. The hero looked up at the stone statue of the man, then back down at the woman.

"Can he be fixed?" he asked.

"Aah... W-What happened?" she gasped.

"The paralysis is temporary," he said coolly. "I hit your pressure point. Now, tell me, can the effects of your Quirk be undone?"

"Ah, my head," she groaned.

Izuku watched in awe as Edgeshot handled the situation, all the way through when the police showed up. The police bound her eyes shut and arrested her to take in for questioning, then also took the man. Izuku shivered a bit at the thought that the man had simply turned to stone.

"Deku," Edgeshot said as he nudged the boy's shoulder. "Come on, let's go. We have more villains to capture."

"That man..." Izuku said quietly.

"I hope he can be restored, but... There's nothing we can do but move on from this. It's regrettable when we can't save everyone, but we have to focus so that we can save as many as we can. Losing one doesn't mean we have to lose the rest too. So refocus, and let's go see if we can be of use to someone else."

"Right," Izuku sighed with a nod, before taking a minute to silence his thoughts.

—

"Uravity, that was sloppy!" Gunhead exclaimed as she hit the mat. "You shifted your weight too far to the left, and your grip was weak!"

"S-Sorry Gunhead Sensei!" she said as scrambled up. "Got distracted!"

"Stop! Take five," he said, raising his hand. As Ochako sat against the wall and took a swig of water, he sighed, "You've been getting 'distracted' too much. You were pretty driven yesterday, but most of our spars today have been lacking."

"S-Sorry Sensei," she sighed.

The day before, she had thought about Deku and felt driven to compete with him. But the more she thought about him, the less she thought about competing. She thought about their date... for about the 10th time.

"I got it," Gunhead said. "Let's just sit down and have a little chat then."

"A chat?" she asked.

"Yeah, about whatever is distracting you," he said as he walked over and grabbed a collapsible chair that was leaning against the wall of his training room. "I'm sure you'll do better if we get your mind off it."

"A-Ah, no that's n-n-n-not necessary!" she exclaimed, waving her arms.

"Nonsense!" he said with a laugh as he sat down in front of her. "I requested you to take you under my wing, and I need you to be completely honest with me. No secrets, okay?"

"I-I, um... O-Okay," she sighed.

—

"Shoto," Endeavor said, "it's time to go for our evening patrol. We'll be going to Hosu today."

"Why so far out of the way?" Shoto asked.

"That's where the hero killer was last spotted," he said. "The law enforcement requested my presence there, but the large amount of requests I've received recently delayed its arrival. Anyways, we should get there soon in case he strikes again."

'... _Iida,_ ' Shoto thought.

—

"This'll be our last stop," Edgeshot said, pointing out the window at the approaching city. "Hosu is normally pretty calm—it's a nice, quiet city—but there has been some activity there recently."

"Hosu... That's where a friend of mine is interning," Izuku said.

"Well, it's also where the hero killer, called Stain, put 2 heroes out of commission recently," he informed him. "We've done enough standard patrolling. I think you would benefit from some investigative with as well."

"W-Wait, the hero killer attacked Ingenium in Hosu?!" Izuku asked. "My friend that's interning in Hosu is Ingenium's brother!"

"You... You don't think he's trying to hunt Stain down out of revenge, do you?" Edgeshot asked.

"He... He idolized his brother. He's probably too angry to think clearly!" Izuku sighed as he mentally berated himself for not realizing sooner.

"I'll contact the hero he's interning with," Edgeshot said. "Do you know who?"

"I think it's—"

 ** _*KROOM*_**

Izuku looked out of the window, and saw that the train station they were approaching had been heavily damaged and was on fire. He was about to move, to do _something_ , but the train's brakes activated abruptly, knocking him and several others onto the floor.

"Deku," Edgeshot said. "I'm going to break the window and head out through there. You either follow close to me or stay put, okay? I can't be worrying about where you are at a time like this."

"I-I'll follow!" Izuku said as he stood up. "Wait, look! Out the window!"

"What? Wait, what _is_ that?" Edgeshot asked when he saw a hulking blue beast with an exposed brain running through the street.

"It looks like Nomu, the villain that attacked the USJ!"

"The monster from the USJ invasion?" the hero asked. "That means this must be the work of the League of Villains! Let's go, no more delays!"

Edgeshot broke through the glass emergency exit and shot out towards the beast. Izuku enveloped himself in his Telekinesis and leapt to the ground, before running to catch up.

—

"Tenya, we still don't know who the threat is," Manual called. "So be ready for anything!"

"Yes sir!" the intern replied.

"No matter what, always keep the civilians in mind as well!"

Manual kept running until he found where the heart of the commotion seemed to be. There were massive fires, crowds of people, and already several heroes trying to control the damage. At the center of it all were two grotesque beasts, with blue, leathery looking skin and exposed brains.

"Tenya, go help the heroes with evacuating civilians!" Manual called. When he didn't receive a response, he looked around and called, "Tenya?!"

He was gone.

—

 **Notes: Hey all! As you may be able to tell, next chapter will be the big one in this arc. What I'm more concerned about, however, is that the final exams are following close behind. And that will pose a couple of issues, mainly because the relationships are different in this fic than canon. Mainly between Deku and Bakugo. In the original, Deku and Bakugo were paired because they didn't get along, but it's different now so I'll have to come up with better pairings. I won't say anything other than I have some stuff in mind.**

 **As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	23. Stain

**Oi I'm alive! One month gone, one new chapter appears! Also, anyone reading the manga? Because HOLY SHIT I'M FUCKING SCREAMING. Also, Ochako hugging Deku made multiple of my days.**

 **Reviews:**

 **ILiekFishes: Nope, no full cowl. Also no OFA in the first place, just so you know. Also no, I'm keeping chapter 19 because everyone has 2 reviews per chapter and I don't want to limit people when we move back a whole chapter number.**

 **Berserker Singh: Endeavor becomes repentant later, not now.**

 **Guest: N O Y A O I**

 **YMCM: Yeah, I don't think Deku will ever be like Tatsumaki haha. But he will get stronger... In some ways...**

 **Guest: Idk, probably not. But maybe eventually.**

 **Other Guest (there were a lot of guest comments): I actually follow most of those except for _Just a Spark_. I'll check it out!**

 **LordXG3: Your mention of Edgeshot's reaction vs Gran Torino's gave me an idea... thanks! Also thanks for not asking about OFA, I'm tired of readdressing it lol.**

 **~Shout-out time~**

 **I** **was going through my chapters to see what had already been shouted out, and realized that I hadn't yet talked about _The Worm That Dorks_ by Grey Field!** **It's hilarious, and easily one of my favorite fics on this site. Just check it out for yourself already, I shouldn't ruin it for you with explanation!**

 **Another fic I never shouted out here is** ** _PLUS ULTRA: THE GIRL WHO BECAME A HERO!_ by Ciaxlia. Before you panic about the fact that it's a fem deku fic... Well nevermind that's exactly what it is. I used to hate the idea of gender bending Izuku, but this story genuinely does it well and completely got me caught up in the story. It hasn't updated in a long while, but it's really long so it should keep you busy for a while regardless. There's also a companion fic with it that's about the fantasy AU. It's also insanely long!**

 **~End Shout-out time~**

 _I_ _do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

—

 _Stain_

Edgeshot attacked the Nomu, but it was quick enough to dodge to the side. Then the beast fired some small black pellets from its mouth at the hero, who used his Quirk to zip through them. Good thing he did, since they detonated in a massive explosion behind him. Edgeshot then attacked the villain again. But this time, since he anticipated the Nomu's speed, the attack hit its mark at the neck and disabled the creature.

After he landed, Edgeshot glanced behind himself, prompting Deku's eyes to follow. The explosive pellets that the hero had dodged had blown apart the side of an apartment building, and bodies littered the flaming debris. Some were injured, but others were clearly killed upon detonation. Maybe they were near the windows to watch the hero do his job.

"... Shit..." Edgeshot sighed. "Should've been more careful."

Deku's mind was accelerating. What was a Nomu doing in Hosu? What about Tenya? He was supposed to be in Hosu, so where was he? What about the Hero Killer? If the League was here, then was he partnered with them as well? The explosion and deaths he'd just witnessed weren't helping his mind calm down.

"Deku!" Edgeshot shouted, grabbing his attention. "There was another explosion nearby, follow me!"

"Y-Yessir!"

"And calm your mind, worry about the losses later!"

"Yes sir!"

The two of them made their way to what appeared to be a battleground. Fire everywhere, heroes everywhere, civilians everywhere, and, oh yeah, two more Nomu. Deku was just processing everything when Endeavor, the _last_ person he expected to see, came from nowhere and hit one of the Nomu with a blast of flames.

"Deku, assist the heroes with evacuating civilians!" Edgeshot instructed him. "You can help that way while I assist in dealing with the Nomus. And in case a villain does attack you, I give you full permission to defend yourself and others!"

"Okay!" he replied. Really, his mind was still moving too fast to do anything other than follow directions.

He moved to a collapsed building, where heroes were trying to remove people from underneath some rubble.

"Hey, I can help!" he called.

"Huh? Hey kid, evacuate!" one of the heroes told him. "This is an emergency, leave it to the professionals!"

Deku didn't reply, and instead began lifting the debris from on top of the injured civilians. The heroes saw, and then began moving the injured. It didn't take too long to clear everyone with his Telekinesis helping out.

"Hey kid, I knew I recognized you!" one of the heroes said after they finished. "You're that Midoriya kid who showed out at the U.A. Sports Festival!"

"Oh yeah," another hero said. "Now that you mention it!"

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm interning with Edgeshot," he quickly explained. "Isn't this kinda a bad time to talk?"

"Ah, now that you mention it..." the hero said as they all looked up at the fight that continued in front of them.

"TENYA!!"

Deku's head immediately snapped to the side upon hearing his friend's name. He recognized Manual, the hero that Tenya chose to intern with, who was looking around almost frantically.

"Damn, where could he run off to at a time like this?" he asked audibly.

' _Iida is gone? He's missing during such an emergency?_ ' Deku thought. ' _Where could he be? What would—_ '

His mind screeched to a halt at the thought of the Hero Killer. Tenya was probably hunting him down there in Hosu. If he wasn't helping out in such a time of danger to the public then he must have been held back by something pretty important, and Deku couldn't think of much else that he would prioritize.

"Damnit!" the teen cursed under his breath before sprinting up the street that Manual seemed to have come from.

The heroes called after him to ask where he was going, but they quickly had to continue working without him. Since the professionals had it handled, Deku quickly tried to focus his mind on the task at hand. He couldn't have any distractions if he was actually going to face the hero killer, although he really hoped that wasn't the case. The Nomus? League of Villains? He assumed they would be handled. All he could worry about was finding Tenya.

Alleys—he remembered that almost all of Stain's attacks took place in those. He glanced back and forth to each side of the street as he ran down, until he caught the familiar glint of Tenya's armor on his left. He ran up to the side of the dark passage between buildings and peered in. His plan was to survey the scene before jumping in, but when he saw the tall man start to plunge his sword down into his friend, he didn't hesitate to act.

He grabbed a tool from one of his pockets—a small steel ball—and fired it at top speed down the alleyway. It collided with the blade and, in spectacular fashion, broke straight through it and knocked the rest of the weapon from Stain's hand.

The villain was, expectedly, surprised by the sudden intervention, and not on guard when Deku fired another tool at him. It was a steel-wired bolas, and Deku wrapped it around the villain's arms and torso before pushing him all the way back until his back hit a trash can. Deku looked to the side and saw the pro hero Native, covered in blood and sitting against the wall.

"Are you okay Native?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah," he got out. "Kid... The kid from the sports festival? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to save both of you."

"M-Midoriya?" Tenya asked as he squinted at his friend.

"It's Deku!" he quickly responded as he ran up to his side. "Are you okay Tenya?"

"It's... Ingenium..." he panted. "And stay out of this, it's my fight!"

"No, shut up!" Deku shouted. "You almost died! Are you alright?"

"H-His Quirk... it paralyzed me after he cut me with his sword," Ingenium said. "But I'm fine otherwise. Now just go Deku, I don't want you here! That bastard ended my brother's hero career!"

"I know!"

"Then stay out of it!"

"Ingenium, you don't understand," Deku insisted. "Would a hero go out for revenge? Fight this guy while there's a crisis going on just down the street?!"

"You can't understand," he grit his teeth.

"Listen, kid," a harsh rasp skitted past Deku's ears, emanating from the villain himself. "I don't like hurting children, so I'll give you a chance to get lost. But I _need_ to put down these two imposters."

"I won't let you!" he said firmly as he stepped forwards.

"They say they're heroes, but they don't save people just because they want to help. They want fame and fortune, or revenge. And I'm sure neither of them go _too_ far out of their way to help people." Stain stood up and cut through the bolas' metal wires with small blades that Deku hadn't noticed before, as he continued, "They bring a bad name to heroes, and as long as they're just allowed to do whatever it is they call 'heroic', then other heroes will also become complacent! I must pull out the weeds before they spread!"

"No!" Deku said as he took his phone out behind his back. "Whatever someone's reason for being a hero is, all heroes improve society!"

"Ehh, you're naive, brat," Stain said. "A few dedicated heroes do a lot more good than a hundred false ones. And there's only _one_ real hero in Japan these days! All Might, who has turned down rewards and recognition many times in the past! That kind of hero, who doesn't think of themselves above other—"

"Shut up!" Deku shouted, throwing another steel ball which hit Stain in the shoulder. Part of the reason he cut the villain off was because he was starting to make _sense._ And that hurt him in a weird way. Also he was done sending out his location and didn't need to stall for time anymore.

"Midoriya, please, leave this place while he'll let you," Ingenium coughed. "This... This doesn't concern you!"

"It's a heroes _job_ to butt in when it doesn't concern him!" the green haired teen snapped at his friend. Then he had a thought, and grinned slightly at the corniness of it as he pulled his hood over his head and lifted the metal respirator to his mouth. "And I told you to call me _Deku_!"

There he was, all heroed up and taking big, but when he looked back at Stain he was met with a wild and intimidating manic smile.

"Hehehe," he chuckled (if it could be called a chuckle) in a hoarse rasp. "That's a good line kid. Maybe you aren't so bad... But those two are, and I still have to get rid of 'em."

"You _won't_!" Deku said with finality. He was honestly surprised he had found his voice, let alone that it came across so strongly.

"I really don't want to hurt you if I don't have to kid," Stain said, crouching into a squat and grabbing one of the knives on his side. "But even if you're sincere, you aren't unique enough that you are the only one out there with hero potential. I can afford to sacrifice you for the greater good."

"Are you _insane_?!" Deku asked. "Like I'd leave them when they need help!"

"Heh... Yup, you're a good one."

Stain flung several knives at the teen hero-to-be, then started running at him at full speed. Deku caught all of the projectiles and sent them back at the killer. He knew where to send the weapons to incapacitate and not kill, thanks to his studying with Edgeshot, but the weapons never made it there. Stain knocked them all out of the air with his unbelievably quick swordsmanship and continued his lunge at the teen.

' _His Quirk somehow paralyzed Iida after he got cut. Even if I don't know exactly how it works, I have to avoid getting cut by those blades!_ '

Deku grabbed the sword with his Quirk and tried to yank it out of Stain's hand, but the villain had an insane grip strength and got through. Deku jumped up and over Stain with help from his Telekinesis, and then a lot of stuff happened really quickly.

One of the tools in Deku's tool belt is a capture net. He was able to deploy it and spread it open really quickly with his Telekinesis, and pushed it down onto Stain. Stain, anticipating the jump that Deku had taken, had a knife hidden in his hand and had thrown it straight up. It went through the net, and stuck itself right in Deku's torso.

"AAAGH!" Deku cried as he crashed down onto the ground and clutched the handle of the knife currentlyimpaling him.

"Smart... But you lose kid."

Stain was able to cut through the net and stood up. Deku mentally berated himself for throwing a net on someone holding a _fucking sword_ because it was a really, _really_ stupid spur-of-the-moment idea and he was _hurting_ and it was easy to yell at himself. He looked up at Stain, and saw that he had turned towards Ingenium again.

' _NO!_ '

He didn't have many tools left, and what he had probably wouldn't do much other than slow Stain down. So what did he do? What was his natural knee-jerk desperate move to stop the death of his friend and the pro hero Native? Well remember the dumpster he knocked Stain into at the beginning of their confrontation? Well he picked up that entire thing and launched it at the villain's back. It would have instantly knocked him out and maybe broken his skull or back, but Stain was apparently expecting something as he quickly turned to, with his sword, cut the dumpster in half and send each half careening down either side of the alleyway. By the time Stain turned back around, Deku was standing again.

"You've got a good Quirk kid, but it's a problem," the villain said before he jumped at him once again.

Deku fired another bolas at the killer and wrapped up the hand holding the sword, then used his Telekinesis to bend the wrist back. Stain scowled and leaned back, before kicking his foot forward and driving it into Deku's chest. Deku fell back and coughed, as the wind had been knocked from his lungs, and tried to get up. But before he could, Stain firmly planted his hand on his chest then roughly removed the knife. He brought the weapon up to his mouth and licked blood off of the blade, and instantly Deku felt all strength leave him as his muscles went limp.

"I wonder if you can still use your Quirk or if that's paralyzed as well," Stain mused. "Well?"

"Ahh... Y-You... You licked my—!" Deku stuttered, still unable to move.

"Yes, and now I'll have you watch as I kill these fakes," the villain said with a sadistic smirk.

Deku's eyes widened in horror as Stain stood and walked back to his allies in heroism. "N-No, stop! Please!"

He desperately tried to call on his Quirk, but it was somehow also frozen by Stain's ability. He couldn't do anything. All he could do as Stain approached Ingenium was watch, beg, and cry for some miracle.

And then a miracle happened to drop by.

—

After another hard day of training, Ochako Uraraka had showered and changed out of her sweaty hero costume. She was on her way to the mess hall in Gunhead's agency when she remembered that she had a phone and that she hadn't checked it since she was busy. So, as she whistled a tune, she took out the phone to look at her notifications.

At first she got excited because she saw that Deku had sent a message, then she became confused as she noticed that it was just his location. Why did he send his location without any context? She sent him a quick question mark, by which time she had just made it to the mess hall.

"My God..."

Ochako looked up and saw Gunhead and his other students huddled around the TV that was on the wall.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked as she approached the group.

"There's... There are villains attacking Hosu. There's so much damage," Gunhead said.

"Eh?!" she gasped.

Ochako suddenly got a little worried. Tenya was interning there, wasn't he? What if something happened to him? It did look pretty bad on television... She decided to send him a quick text asking how he was. She didn't expect a reply, but it was just for him to see after the fact, so she knew he'd be safe.

But she had never exited the conversation with Deku, so that was on her screen when she opened her phone. And she noticed that he was in Hosu. And then she started realizing why he would send his location without any context when he was in the middle of a _crisis_. And then she started to have a slight mental breakdown.

What if he needed help? What if he was hurt? What if he was fighting someone, or fighting to save someone? What if he was fighting to save _himself_? What if he was _dying_?

Gunhead thankfully noticed her hyperventilating and rushed to calm her down, along with several other students. But Ochako barely registered what they were saying. All she could think about was Deku.

—

Stain recoiled as flames burst to life in front of him, leaping away from the immobile fake heroes and Deku. He looked up and scowled at another teen as he walked up, his heterochromatic hair and eyes shimmering between shadow and firelight.

"Damnit Midoriya," Shoto sighed. "You really have to give me more information during times like these. I would've come faster."

"T-Todoroki!" Deku cried as he saw his friend. "You came! Are you're using your left side!"

"You're crawling out of the walls like damn cockroaches," Stain grumbled. "I just want to end these fakes and get on with my night. Is that too much to ask?"

"Yes, it is," Shoto said sharply. He blasted ice forwards, lifting up the three paralyzed heroes onto a ramp, then fired his flames at the killer again. That also melted the ice and let the three immobile heroes slide towards him. "The pros should be here soon. I told them to come, at least."

"Shoto, don't let him cut you!" Deku said. "His Quirk paralyzes when he ingests your blood!"

"That explains all of his blades," Shoto mused. "That's fine then. I'll just keep my distance and—"

Stain threw a knife that grazed Shoto's cheek, then charged the teen. He swung his sword, but Shoto erected an ice barrier that blocked it from hitting him. A quick look up revealed that a knife was in midair, falling to collide with him.

"Damn, he must've thrown that before when I was distracted!" Shoto said as he blocked it with ice as well.

Stain appeared from behind the ice barrier and grabbed Shoto's collar. He was about to lick the blood from his cheek, but the heterochrome ignited his flames to force him back.

"Hehe, Ingenium has some good friends!" Stain said before attacking again.

"Why...?" Tenya asked as he watched his classmate ward off the killer. "Please, stop this! I've inherited Ingenium's name so... I have to do it. It has to be me..!"

"You've inherited it? That's funny!" Shoto called as he blasted another mountain of ice at Stain. "The old Ingenium never had _that_ look on his face. I understand that you have family issues though."

"Todoroki..." Izuku strained.

"Cutting off your view of an opponent with superior speed?" Stain chuckled as he cut the ice into innumerable pieces. "That's a stupid plan!"

"I wonder about that!" Shoto retorted as he prepared to launch his flames at the killer.

But Stain had thrown two knives that stabbed into Shoto's arm and shocked him out of using his Quirk.

"Above you kid!" Native shouted as Stain dropped down towards the teen.

But then, all of the pieces of ice that Stain cut through began to glow a soft green. They all quickly moved and impacted Stain from all sides, before Deku pushed them all down to the end of the alley where he smashed it into the ground.

"I can move again!" Deku declared to his companions.

"A time limit?" Shoto asked.

"But he got you last kid, you should be the last one to get free!" Native said.

"I can think of a few explanations," Deku said. "The time limit could work differently depending on how much blood he ingests, or it could be shorter if he already has more people frozen. Or, it could rely on blood type."

"I like you kid," Stain called as he stood up. "Not only do you have a hero's drive, but you're a smart one too! It's blood type!"

"It's two on one," Shoto said. "With the two of us, we can at least hold him off until the pros get here."

"We should be able to," Deku replied.

Before they could talk anymore, Stain was already sprinting at them. Shoto blasted his fire at the villain, who leapt up onto the side of the alley before jumping forwards again. Deku had unwrapped a steel wire from around his wrist, which was connected to his glove on one end and had a metal weight on the other, and fired that up at Stain. He would've used another tool, but those would've been less effective as long as the villain had his weapons. Speaking of, Stain did attempt to slash the wire but failed since Deku could just use his Telekinesis to dodge. The weighted ball went several times around Stain's neck, wrapping it up with the wire, then Deku yanked down on it. He pulled Stain into the jet of flame, but Stain quickly cut the metal wire and jumped back out.

"Damn kids, that _hurt_!" he snarled.

Shoto slammed his right foot down and a large glacier erupted up at Stain. The villain, more wary of Deku's Telekinesis than before, leapt on top of the ice instead of cutting it to pieces. Then, he jumped up onto the roof of the adjacent building.

"... Where'd he go?" Deku asked after a moment of eerie silence.

"I... don't know," Shoto said.

"Please, both of you..." Ingenium said softly. "I... I have to..!"

"Ingenium!" Shoto shouted finally. "Don't look at your obstacles, they'll only distract you! Look ahead at what you want to become!"

"What I want to become..?" he asked.

Deku looked over at Ingenium for a second. But that second was all it took for Stain to recognize the opening and make his move.

"AAAAHH!" Shoto screamed as Stain's sword dug into his left shoulder.

" _TODOROKI_!" Deku yelled.

He used his Telekinesis to shove Stain against the wall, but not before the villain had gotten a taste of Shoto's blood. The heterochromatic teen tensed before falling flat on his face, groaning from the pain.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!" Ingenium shouted as he shot forwards and drove his leg into Stain's face, sending the villain flying down the alley.

"Ingenium, you can move!" Deku exclaimed.

"Yes," he nodded. "And I'm sorry for my shortcomings as a hero, Deku. I was so short-sighted..."

"Damn fake," Stain grunted. "If hearts changed so easily, I wouldn't be where I am today."

"You're right," Ingenium said. "I'm not worthy of being called 'hero.' But if I stand by and let my friends get hurt because of my own mistakes, then I am as bad a friend as I am a hero. And I will have sullied not only Ingenium's name, but also that of Tensei Iida, my brother."

"You're hopeless," Stain sighed.

"Ah, no! My reciprocating engine is busted!" Ingenium exclaimed.

"What?!" Deku asked.

Stain rushed the heroes once again, and Deku looked up to make eye contact with him for a moment. Stain was desperate now. One of his swords was broken and the other was imbedded in Shoto, and his throwing knives were useless against Deku. He was desperate to take care of his mission that night, Deku could tell. So, the hero deployed another of his tools from his utility belt: caltrops! Which did absolutely nothing since Stain had steel boots. _Great_.

Stain jumped at them, and Deku fired his last metal ball at his face. He got him square in the forehead, which he promptly congratulated himself for, but Stain simultaneously and discreetly flung a knife at Ingenium and hit him in the chest. It went through his armor and into his flesh, causing the teen to yelp as he took a step back.

"Iida! Are you okay?!" Deku asked.

"Y-Yeah, it's not too deep," he gasped. "Watch out!"

Deku turned and stopped the knife that Stain had thrown, before dropping it on the ground.

"This way!" they heard a voice shout from outside the alley.

"I... told them to come," Shoto groaned.

"You damn kids," Stain said, glaring daggers directly at Deku. "I'll get those two!"

Stain quickly turned and jumped up to escape the alleyway, but Deku took out his last bolas and fired it at the villain. It bound his arms before pulling him down to the ground, where he shouted from the impact of his head on the hard floor. Then he went limp.

"Did... you just beat the hero killer?" Native asked. "Holy sh-crap!" (he self-censored since he was around kids, but at that point it shouldn't have been too necessary)

Pretty soon, the heroes had confiscated all of Stain's blades and tied him up. At this point, the other pro heroes found them in the alley and they all regrouped out in the street. It wasn't long before Edgeshot and Endeavor appeared as well, having taken care of the Nomu.

"You took down the hero killer?" Endeavor asked, somewhat taken aback.

"Really? Nice job kid!" Edgeshot praised Deku.

"Ah, well it was nothing," he blushed.

"Midori-ah, I mean Deku," Ingenium sighed, "it was more than nothing. You saved my life. You too, Shoto."

"Well all three of you saved mine," Native scratched his neck and laughed. "Which is pretty embarrassing since I'm supposed to be the professional here."

"But are you sure it's the real hero killer?" Endeavor asked as he approached the villain. "After all the trouble he caused, I doubt he could be taken down so easily."

"Easily?" Shoto asked, arching his eyebrows.

"Someone of such experience being taken down by mere children, I meant," he said.

" _They did better than you would_ ," Stain hissed suddenly as he cut his restraints with a hidden blade then shoved it up at Endeavor's throat.

"WATCH OUT!" Edgeshot yelled as he condensed his body and shot up into action.

He reached the blade before it hit Eandeavor's throat, cutting it in half, but he wasn't able to fully stop it. The broken blade cut through the front of the number 2 hero's throat, sending a spray of blood out before he clasped his hand over it and collapsed.

" _He was the worst of them_ ," Stain announced as all present hesitated to act. " _This society is full of criminals, as well as scum like him who capitalize on the foolishness of the public... They are all targets of my purge! All of you... ALL OF YOU are fakes! The only way to reach a cleaner society... Yes, one of us must be stained with blood in order to clean the rest of society! I'll be stained with ALL OF YOURS! You can't kill me! Try it! The only one who I'd let kill me is a true hero, like ALL MIGHT!_ "

Endeavor tried to speak, but he was only able to grunt. That was enough to snap Shoto out of his shock at the events transpiring in front of him.

"NO!" he shouted as he fired a jet of flame which completely engulfed Stain.

The burnt body collapsed, parts of his clothes still flaming and his hair smoldering. Endeavor then began screaming, getting everyone's attention instantly.

"Endeavor, are you okay?!" Edgeshot asked.

"I'm fine," he grunted, rubbing his neck. "Just had to cauterize the wound."

True enough, he had burnt his own throat to close the slice put into it by the villain. It was scarred, definitely, but he would live.

"That's so metal," an unnamed hero said.

—

 **Notes:** **Nothing much to note, other than update times won't be quickening. As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	24. Return to Calm Mostly

**Was that the longest internal between updates so far? Yes, I think so. BUT THERE'S ANOTHER UPDATE NONETHELESS!**

 **Hey guys, thanks for keeping your eyes and ears peeled. I'm finally back after taking a solid month and a half vacation from writing, and it felt great.**

 **Reviews**

 **HankFlamion10: Did Shoto _kill_ Stain? I mean...**

 **Steelrain66: Glad to hear positive responses to Edgeshot!**

 **Malchior: Oh God not you again. Okay, so Deku doesn't have perfect control. A lack of concentration causes him to drop things when they're interfered with, while concentrating on his TK too hard stops him from being about to think up good ideas. His internship should help with that. And we will get those Todoroki introspection scenes.**

 **bens6757: What's with you and getting Mei naked?** **Haha, maybe not...**

 **Ander Arias: I see what you mean with the Ochako scene, and that was unintentional. Sorry bout that**

 **E and Y: I never said he would never get OFA.**

 **AGuyWhoDrinksWater: That'll actually be semi-adressed this chapter, coincidentally.**

 **ILiekFishes: Stain's act of attacking Endeavor was very purposely the opposite of saving someone like in canon.**

 **Bisexual atheist idiot: Yes, you're right. Got a problem?**

 **End of reviews.**

 **~Shout-out time~**

 ** _My Hero Academia Untold: The Fafnir Knight_ by** **LordGX3! I already shouted out this story's predecessor, but it's now being rewritten and revised under a new story! Go check it out, you might like it even if you didn't like it before.**

 ** _Quirk Analysis_ by bens6757! He's been fan of this for a long time and I felt like I needed to check out his story when he said he wrote one. Aside from some grammar issues, it's interesting so far and it's definitely recommendation-worthy!**

 **~End shout-out time~**

 **I know last time I mentioned the manga. I will this time as well. FUCKING LEAGUE OF FUCKING VILLAINS. GOD, I WON'T POST SPOILERS BUT I'M SO EXCITED.**

 **Back to this story, this chapter is a very important in-between chapter. Not much action, but important things happen. Things I've been asked about... a lot. So, some of you will be happy to see something in here. I think some of you will be disappointed, but it's necessary and it's been a long time coming.**

 **So, here it is.**

 _I do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

—

 _Return to Calm. Mostly._

Izuku slowly came to, and saw a white ceiling above him. That was wrong... his room at Edgeshot's agency was much darker.

"Midoriya, you're awake!"

Izuku looked up to find his friend Tenya sitting in the hospital bed adjacent to him.

' _Hospital... Iida... Was he injured? Was I? WAIT—_ '

The whole patrol and following encounter with the hero killer flooded back to Izuku. The nomu, the heroes, the civilians, and the chaos of everything hit him at once.

"Iida! What happened to—?! Ah!" he yelped in pain.

"Ah!" a feminine voice shouted as well.

As Izuku started getting up, the sharp pain in his abdomen from his stab wound forced him back down. But his motion didn't just disturb his injury; there was also a weight that was seemingly gone from his legs.

"Ow..."

Izuku glanced down at the floor next to his hospital bed and saw—

"Uraraka?!" he asked in surprise.

"Deku, you're awake!" she exclaimed as she hopped up onto her feet.

"What are you doing here?"

"W-Well you sent your location an' the news said there was an attack in Hosu and ya didn't answer your phone and then I remembered that Iida was here too so I called an' found out y'all were here so I asked Gunhead and he let me come see ya!" she explained surprisingly quickly.

"She cried a lot," Shoto said. "And she slept on your bed overnight."

"I-I d-d-d-didn't!" she stuttered as her face bloomed bright red.

Izuku decided to ignore that and asked Ochako, "Do you know what happened?"

"Nuh-uh," she shook her head. "Just that ya had a scrap with some villains."

He glanced at Tenya, then Shoto who sighed, "We didn't know if we could tell anyone about the incident."

"Nobody has visited us yet to let us know," Tenya confirmed.

"But it's not like I'd leak any info," Ochako pouted. Turning to Izuku, she asked, "You can trust me with a secret right?"

"Yeah, but what happened last night was... unique," he said.

"I... I'm just glad you're fine," she said with a smile. "I don't need ta know anythin' else."

"How about whether _we're_ fine?" Shoto asked.

"A-Ah, well of c-course I meant all of ya!" she quickly corrected.

"Ah Todoroki," Tenya sighed. "No need to tease her."

"But it's fun," he said with a straight face.

"T-Tease?" she asked.

"Well, it's pretty obvious about you two," Tenya said. "If we didn't see it before, then the way you fretted over Midoriya last night would've made us sure."

"Really though, congrats to you two," Shoto nodded.

"W-What's obvious?!" Izuku asked frantically.

"W-W-What're ya sayin'?!" Ochako asked as well, blushing madly.

"Ah, well, now that I think about it," Tenya said, "We don't exactly know for _sure,_ and it's sort of an awkward thing to ask..."

"Are you two not dating?" Shoto asked bluntly.

"WHAT?!" the two exclaimed.

"N-NO, WE AREN'T A COUPLE OR ANYTHING!" Izuku cried.

"W-We only went on one da— I-I mean we are _NOT!!!_ " Ochako defended.

"And I'll stop you right there," a voice said before everyone in the room flinched and looked to see Edgeshot sitting on the window sill. "Yo."

"EDGESHOT SENSEI?!" Izuku exclaimed.

"W-When did you get here?!" Ochako asked.

"Hello," Shoto said.

"Why are you sitting precariously on the window?!" Tenya asked exasperatedly.

"Well that's a lot of questions," the hero chuckled. "The only thing I can really answer is... I'm on the windowsill because that's what ninjas do."

"... Do all ninjas really do that?" Shoto asked.

"Yes, absolutely," he nodded.

"Um, Edgeshot Sensei," Izuku said, "we were wondering whether Uraraka could know anything about last night?"

"Not right now, 'cause of legal stuff," he sighed. "You'll have some visitors coming in pretty soon. Just wait a while and see, okay?"

"Okay," the green teen nodded. "Who are the visitors?"

"You'll see for yourself," the ninja hero shrugged.

"EDGESHOT!" Manual exclaimed as he burst in. "Why did you jump up here so recklessly?!"

"I'm a ninja," he replied. "It wasn't reckless, it was simple."

"Please, stop copying that old manga you like so much," the normal hero sighed exasperatedly.

"I-It may be a manga, but it's an accurate representation of ninja culture!"

"There's no way I'd believe that," Manual sighed.

"Huff, ruffwoofwoof!" a laugh (maybe bark?) sounded from the doorway, where stood a police officer with the head of a dog. "You heroes never cease to amuse me, ruff! However, we have more important things to discruff (discuss)."

"Um, kids, this is the Chief of Police here in Hosu," Manual said, "Mr. Kenji Tsuragamae."

"C-Chief of police?" Izuku asked.

Everyone in the room stood up at attention.

"Don't, it's not necessary," Tsuragamae said. "May I ask the young lady to—woof—step out for a moment?" He gestured between Ochako and the door.

"Yes sir," she nodded before smiling back at Izuku and leaving the room.

The chief waited a moment after the door clicked shut, before looking over the teens.

"So... You're the U.A. kids who took down the hero killer." He paused and glanced up, seeming to specifically eye Tenya and Shoto. "Chizome Akaguro—woof—the Hero Killer Stain, is in intensive care after suffering severe burns, several broken bones and other bad injuries.

"You know, back when evolution decided to grant us with Quirks, the police were quick to decide that they could not be used as weapons. As was the status quo. Once a need arose for that protection, pro heroes came in to fill the demand. That simple decision, to allow individuals the privilege to use these dangerous and deadly skills, was plenty criticized. Ruff course, it has proven more popular than not. But that popularity only exists because those heroes exercise their power within the _law_ , woof.

"To use your Quirks to cause harm when you are unlicensed, even if you were facing a villain like Stain, is a direct beach of that sacred law. For acting illegally, you and your pro hero mentors shall be punished impartially."

"Hold on!" Shoto spoke up. "If Iida didn't fight, Native would've died. The same is true for Midoriya saving Iida. Would you have rather had them sit by and watch while someone else died?!"

"Todoroki!" Izuku gasped as he grabbed his friend's shoulder.

"It turned out fine! Besides, isn't it a hero's _job_ to save people?!" Shoto argued.

"You have much to learn, _ruff_ ," Tsuragamae huffed. "Some education you're getting from your father and U.A."

"You mutt..." the heterochrome leaned forward slightly.

"TODOROKI!" Tenya exclaimed as he firmly grasped the teen by his other switching rotary Rose City shoulder.

"Hey kids, just hear him out," Edgeshot said. "Besides, we haven't gotten to my favorite part."

"I understand your frustration," the chief sighed. "Everything I just said was just a... legal formality. It's my _official_ position on the subject. But, there is a question of whether there needs to be any official statement at all.

"The hero killer's injuries, as well as the fact that Endeavor was also injured, serve as evidence that the two of them could've fought. We could simply say that you all didn't fight the killer. Endeavor was the hero who risked his life you save you. He gets accolades, you aren't punished, and it's a win-win. Or... go public. Be praised by the public for your bravery but accept the fact that your careers as heroes may be over.

"So, how about it?" he asked with a wink and a thumbs up. "I don't want to pursue charges with such promising kids! I'm and understanding mutt, eh?"

"Yes... Thank you," Shoto said with a bow.

"One more thing," Edgeshot said. "My favorite part."

"Izuku Midoriya," the chief addressed the young hero-in-training. "I was informed by your instructor that he gave you _specific permission_ to use your Quirk in self-defence against villains. Is this true?"

"U-Um... I think so," Izuku nodded.

"Then, seeing as you were technically under pro hero Native's supervision and had permission from your instructor, you are exempt from this," he smiled. "You may also accept credit for taking down the Hero Killer along with Endeavor. If anything, it may help explain the broken bones."

"I... I what?" he asked.

"You're the U.A. student who helped Endeavor take down Stain, _ruff_!" he announced. "How's that feel?"

"I... I don't..." Izuku glanced at his friends, then at Edgeshot. "I don't think I want the credit if Iida and Todoroki can't have it."

"Midoriya?!" his two classmates exclaimed.

"You deserve it as much as me," he smiled at them. "It just doesn't feel right."

"And does it feel any better letting my old man take all the credit?" Shoto asked. "Midoriya, I'm fine not taking credit for this after all. But, for me, don't let it all go to my father. Please take what you deserve."

"I agree Midoriya," Tenya said. "Really, you deserve it more anyways."

"But guys..." he sighed.

"Listen kid," Edgeshot said, hanging an arm around him. "Take this. You deserve it. It'll get even more public eye on you, if that's possible. Besides, your friends want you to have this win. Don't just leave them hanging."

"I... I guess so..."

It still didn't feel right.

"Then, ruff," Tsuragamae said, "the official story is: U.A. Students and Pro Hero Native attacked by Stain. Deku, hero-in-training, saves them and holds the villain off until Endeavor comes in to capture him. If you weren't there kid, lives would've been lost and the killer would be on the loose. I give you my thanks, as a police officer. You two as well, although I'm sorry that you won't get your due reward."

"That's fine," Tenya bowed. "Thank you as well Mr. Tsuragamae."

"Thank you," Shoto bowed as well.

"I assume you'll want to talk about this in private," the police chief said. "I'll tell that girl to wait a moment more for you to let her back in."

"Um, Mr. Tsuragamae," Izuku said, "is there any way we could tell her what really happened?"

"Up to you," he shrugged. "But where do you draw the line? It's best to either tell everyone or no one. Whichever that is... I'll let you decide. Good day."

The heroes left them alone after a light scolding and congratulations, and the three of them quickly agreed to stick to the official story. The alternative would just cause problems for them in and it wouldn't be worth the accolades.

"So Midoriya," Shoto said. "Before we let Uraraka in, there's one more thing to talk about."

"Really? What is it?" Izuku asked.

"Are you and she together?" he asked bluntly.

"N-No!" he yelped quickly. "At least, not officially or anything."

"It's... unofficial?" Tenya asked.

"We went on _A_ date. Just one," he explained. "And we never decided what it meant or anything. We're still friends."

"But not _just_ friends," Shoto ventured.

"I... don't think so," Izuku admitted.

"Then we won't push the issue any further," Tenya said.

"Thanks guys," the green teen smiled.

After that, they let the brunette back in and explained the story to her. They didn't tell her the truth—the whole truth, at least—and instead kept to the official story. She wasn't exactly happy with it.

"I can't believe you went up against that hero killer all alone!" Ochako cried.

"I-I really didn't! Not for long anyway," Izuku scratched his neck.

"Why didn't you two help him?!" she looked sharply at Shoto and Tenya.

"Stain's Quirk paralyzed us," Shoto said.

"Besides, our hero mentors never gave us permission to fight," Tenya said. "Doing so could have ruined our careers as heroes."

Ochako sighed and looked back at Izuku. She looked up and down, taking in every bandage and bit of gauze.

"Deku... I'm so glad you're safe." She smiled at Shoto and Tenya. "You two, too."

"So Uraraka, you're going back to Gunhead's?" Izuku asked.

"I guess so," she nodded. "I still have to finish my internship over there, I only came here to clear my head about it. Now that I'm not worryin' about it, I'll be able to focus on my fighting."

After another couple of hours, Ochako departed for Gunhead's agency. Shortly after, the doctors gave the three young heroes their diagnoses. Shoto's shoulder was dislocated, though there was no permanent damage, and Izuku needed to rest his body to heal the stab wound in his abdomen. It would leave a scar there unfortunately. Tenya was the one with the worst injuries. Before Izuku had even reached him Stain had severed the nerves in his left arm, taking away its feeling and function. While a nerve replacement surgery would have brought feeling back to it, he decided to use the injury as a reminder that he had failed as a hero. He would only fix the damage after he felt that he had overcome that shortcoming.

After the Hosu Incident, the internet went ablaze over the leaked footage of Stain. The villain had almost murdered the number 2 hero, and vowed to kill more. Then, an explosion of flames overtook the entire screen. Thankfully for Shoto, the quality was poor enough, and the video was taken from far enough away, that nobody knew he had fired the blast instead of Endeavor. The hero did get criticized for "overkill", but since Stain didn't actually die, most people let it go pretty quickly.

This footage did, however, pick up Stain's monologue. The public largely agreed that he was just a murdering hypocrite, but a small amount of people started discussing how he was right.

Another thing engulfing the conversation online was a certain green-haired celebrity that went by the name Deku. The teen was already famous, but his involvement in the Hosu Incident (which was enhanced by pros talking about his participation in rescue operations) got even more eyes on him.

—

"... What the fuck?" Tomura grunted. "Why... Why isn't anyone giving a shit about me?"

"Tomura Shigaraki, please calm down," Kurogiri requested.

" _No_." His eyes flared and a bead of sweat dripped from his forehead onto his father's hand. "I went through so much trouble... But what does the media talk about? Stain... Not even that! That fucking broccoli brat that beat him! RRAGH!"

Tomura kicked a stool across the room, and Kurogiri caught it with a portal.

" _Calm down Tomura_ ," the voice spoke from the screen. " _Think, rationally_."

"But Master..!" he heaved, grasping for a foothold to continue his venting.

" _No, Tomura. There's always a lesson to be learned._ "

—

"Listen kid," Edgeshot said as he looked down upon his intern. "Having you here... It's been a blast."

Izuku chuckled and scratched his neck in slight embarrassment, still not entirely used to praise from pro heroes. "I had a good time too Edgeshot-Sensei. I'm glad I was able to learn under you."

"Yeeaaah, I _was_ hoping to bring you out on another patrol, but your little stab wound just had to get in the way," Edgeshot sighed as he planted his fist on the kid's chest. "But with that extra studying and meditating you got in because of it, I don't know if there's much else I can condition you for."

"Coming here has helped me grow so much Sensei," Izuku smiled and bowed. "I won't let your training go to waste!"

"Sure thing kid," the ninja hero grinned. "Hey, when you start out as a hero, I'd be glad to have you as a sidekick. Though, I don't expect you to stay as anyone's sidekick for very long. You'll go independent really quick once you're out there."

"Ah, you think so?"

"Absolutely. You're already a celebrity as you are, little guy."

"I guess so," Izuku nodded. "Thanks again Sensei! I'll see you around!"

And with that, he waved a final goodbye to his instructor and left with his light luggage. His commute was, of course, filled with people recognizing him from his somewhat newfound fame. While he was now used to such things, the Hosu Incident seemed to make even more people recognize him. And, while it sounded cocky and egotistical in his head, it felt nice to be recognized for something other than just the sports festival because that was getting old.

He had talked to his mother plenty of times on the phone, but the relief was definitely evident in her eyes when he got home. She hugged him tight and cried about how worried she was, but also said that she knew he'd be alright. She made him katsudon as a special welcome home dinner that night, and sent him to bed extra early to get him back into his regular sleep schedule and to get him rested for his return to school.

Only, he really didn't get too much rest that night. He'd had trouble sleeping ever since Hosu, in fact. All of the people that died in front of him kept flashing through his head. Their corpses burning... The damage done by that single nomu was scarred into his head more than anything else from that night.

—

"Hey! It's Midoriya!" Denki shouted as the student in question walked in.

"U-Um, hel—" Izuku began, but was caught off-guard as the class erupted in cheers and celebration.

"How the hell can you be so manly?!" Eijiro exclaimed as he hooked his arm around Izuku's neck.

"I mean seriously, the hero killer?" Rikido sighed. "You're insane man."

"HE AIN'T SPECIAL!" Katsuki shouted from his seat.

"PFFT—! Actually, what's up with your hair Bakugo?!" Hanta laughed.

"Best Jeanist put fucking cement in it!" the blonde complained as he tried running his fingers through it. "Or something else strong enough that it kept this shape all fucking weekend!"

"While Midoriya was saving Iida and Todoroki from Stain, you were getting a _HAIRCUT_?!" Denki laughed.

"WANNA DIE?!" Katsuki yelled as his hair popped back into its normal spiky position.

"Hey man, it just went back!" Eijiro joined in on the laughing.

Yaoyorozu made a judge's gavel and smacked it against her desk a few times to calm down the class, which didn't work, and Shinso was napping with the help of his new patented Moron-blocking earplugs.

"C'mon guys, don't make such a big deal out of it," Izuku chuckled uncomfortably.

"But it _is_ a big deal!" Toru said.

"Certainly a heroic feat," Mashirao nodded.

"Hey c'mon Midoriya," Denki groaned. "What're you doing, trying to impress so the girls with all this stuff?! Cuz it's probably working dude! And there are only 6 girls in this class!"

"N-No!" he defended.

"What's that?" Ochako (who had just walked in) asked.

" _Apparently_ Midori is trying to get with one of us girls," Mina teased. "Any idea who?"

"W-W-Wha?!" Ochako exclaimed as she blushed.

"I didn't say that exactly," Denki said. Then he laughed, "But Uraraka, what's with that reaction?!"

"Yeah Ochako!" Toru agreed.

"Yeah, what's with that blush Ochako?" Kyoka asked as well with a smirk.

"Uwawawawa! W-What are ya talkin' about?!" Ochako stammered as she covered her face.

"G-Guys..!" Izuku, also blushing, said as he stepped in front of her. "Let's not—"

"Everyone shut up and sit down," Aizawa groaned as he walked in. "Ah, geez... You're all so excitable after your internships, huh?"

—

" **I AM HERE!** " All Might announced as he stood in front of the students at Field Gamma.

"No special entrance?" Hanta asked. "I expected something more after a break like that."

"Maybe he's just out of shticks," Denki mused.

" **I am never out! My supply of shticks is inexhaustible! Ahahaha!** " the hero laughed. " **Although, it certainly has been a while everyone! I appear before you today to instruct you in basic hero training! Since you all just got done working so hard, today we will have a little bit of fun. It's a rescue race!** "

"Race?" the class asked.

"Excuse me All Might!" Tenya said, raising his hand. "Should rescue training not be done at the USJ?"

" **The USJ is specifically for disaster rescue, Young Iida! Now, where was I...? Ah yes, it's a race! This is Field Gamma! It's a network of packed industrial buildings that form a tight maze of alleyways! We'll split you up into 4 groups of 5 for this exercise, each group going separately. I'll be inside and activate a distress signal, and the five students on the border will race to come rescue me! Simple, right? Reach me first and win!** **Just keep collateral damage to a minimum, ahahaha!** "

"Stop pointing at me!" Katsuki snapped, getting a laugh out of his classmates.

—

' _I'm in group one, huh..._ ' Izuku sighed internally.

He glanced to his left and evaluated his other group members: Shoto Todoroki, Hitoshi Shinso, Rikido Sato, and Tenya Iida.

' _Todoroki and Iida are my biggest opponents here... But I can't let my guard down against either of the other two._ '

Rikido took out a small packet of sugar and downed it.

"Ooooh yeah!" the sugarpowered student exclaimed as his muscles swelled.

"Um, mind if I have some?" Hitoshi asked.

"I can't just give you some, it's for my Qu—" Rikido began explaining before freezing.

"Thank you very much."

" **AH! OH NO!** " All Might's voice echoed out. " **I'VE BEEN ATTACKED BY A VILLAIN AND NEED RESCUE!** "

All Might's position popped up on the giant board, and it was off to the races. Shoto blasted off in the lead by propelling himself forward on a path of ice. Meanwhile, Izuku ran to the nearest building and arranged garbage cans to let him run up to the roof, and Tenya began running through the alleys on the ground.

"Sato!" Hitoshi said. "Throw me towards All Might!"

The bruiser threw the brainwasher as hard as he could, but he only sent him up to the first roof.

"... Damn," Hitoshi sighed as he decided all he could do was follow the others.

Shoto made first place by a longshot. Izuku placed second by quickly leaping across the rooftops while Tenya had an issue getting on top of the building, and Hitoshi came in behind them. Rikido was still brainwashed.

" **Well done young heroes!** " All Might bellowed. " **Young Todoroki placed first, but you've all obviously improved! Well, mostly all** ," he said with a gesture to Rikido.

"Thank you All Might!" the students bowed together.

" ***Ahem, _Young Midoriya,_** " the hero whispered to Izuku. " ** _Come to the teacher's lounge during lunch. I've got something to discuss with you._** "

—

"So... What's this about, All Might?" Izuku asked. He and the gaunt hero had been sitting there silently for almost a minute.

"Young man... You went through so much in the past week," Toshinori said. "As someone who took you on as my pupil, I feel that I have a responsibility to look after you. I clearly didn't, and you were hurt. For that, I am sorry."

"No, don't be!" Izuku said quickly. "This was my fault, not yours All Might."

"Yeah, sure," he sighed. "Really, the reason I called you in is... Well, it's complicated. But, I suppose I have a starting point. During the Hosu attack, there were 3 nomu, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"These beasts, who have multiple Quirks... They are not beasts at all. In fact, they were once regular citizens."

"Really? How'd they end up like that then?" Izuku asked.

"Their bodies were forcefully implanted with extra Quirks."

"That..." The cogs in Izuku's head were spinning in overdrive. "That's possible?!"

"Yes," his mentor nodded. "The strain of all those powers ripped their minds apart until they were left with intelligence akin to animals. Now that we know this... There is only one man I know of who can perform the act of transferring Quirks. I fought him years ago. In fact, he's the one that wounded me."

"The one that gave you _that_?" Izuku pointed at the hero's stomach.

"Yes," he nodded. "I thought that I had defeated him back then, but... Now, it's clear he has returned. The villain _All For One_. All For One can steal Quirks. and then, he can either give them away or use them himself. That is his ability. So, it's more than feasible that he has acquired a de-aging Quirk. Why is this relevant? Well, he's been alive for hundreds of years."

"He's that old?"

"Uh-huh. I'm sorry if this sounds convoluted, I'm as poor at explaining as I am at teaching."

"No, it's fine," Izuku assured. "I just... don't get why this is relevant."

"Because, there is only one way to defeat this foe," All Might said. "Back then, in the beginning of the era of Quirks, All For One had a younger brother. This younger sibling was Quirkless, despite his older brother's great potential. Feeling bad for him, All For One granted his younger brother a Quirk. It was a simple Quirk: it stockpiled power over time.

"However, the Quirkless brother was _not_ actually born Quirkless! He had a rather useless Quirk: the ability to pass the Quirk itself onto another person. This Quirk fused with the stockpiling Quirk, and became a new one: _One For All_! One For All was passed on from the brother, then passed on again and again. It is a crystallization of the power of every single hand that it has passed through."

"And One For All is the only chance we have to defeat All For One?" Izuku asked.

"Yes," All Might said. "And I am certainly in no shape to do it myself. So I want you to fully understand this situation before you make any rash decisions. After all, we're talking about the fate of the world."

"W-What do you mean?"

"Izuku Midoriya," All Might said as he stood up from the couch. "I am the eighth handler of One For All, and I offer for you to be my successor."

"Huh? HHUUUUUUHH?!" Izuku exclaimed. "What?!"

"My Quirk. I want to give it to you."

"N-No way! This is surreal!" Izuku held his head with his hands because he thought it might fly apart. " _If All Might's Quirk was passed onto him then what was his original one? Would I lose my telekinesis? Would I then just have 2 Quirks? Would they combine? How would we expla—_ "

"Calm down kid!" Toshinori exclaimed. "Listen, it's really not _that_ complicated. The hero All Might is already nearing the end of his time, as you know, because of this injury. You could do a lot more now than I could with this Quirk. As for what would happen if you do accept, it's also simple! One For All manifests differently with each user, depending on their original Quirk! Don't you think it'd be noticed if 6 heroes with similar abilities had careers back-to-back-to-back?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Izuku nodded. "Then what was your original Quirk?"

"I was Quirkless, actually," All Might chuckled. "I had no Quirk for it to merge with, so it just boosted my physical abilities."

"You're Quirkless? No way!"

"Yes way!" He shot him a thumbs up. "And you may be thinking that the culminated strength of eight people may be a lot to handle, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well that's why I told you to keep training your physical body!" All Might said. "You need to do that to contain all that power! Now, I know this is a big decision young man. You don't have to give me any answer immediately, but—"

"I'll do it."

Toshinori looked up into the shining, determined eyes of his protege.

"I'll be your successor."

"No hesitation! I like it!" he laughed. "Well, I won't be giving it to you yet. This meeting was just to bring you up to speed, after all."

"I understand All Might," Izuku nodded.

"Besides, you have more important things to worry about before that. Your semester exams are coming up, you know?"

"U-Um, yeah..."

"Prepare yourself, and pass those exams! That should be the first thing on your mind right now."

"Yes sir."

"Well, I've kept you here long enough. Go on Young Midoriya."

"Thank you All Might!" he said as he left the room.

Izuku sighed when he was out in the hallway. He had meant to talk to All Might about his sleep issues after the Hosu Incident, but he never saw an opening. Or, maybe it was subconscious. He didn't _want_ to tell him. Despite the fact that he knew All Might was trustworthy and understanding, he felt that it was something he shouldn't have to bring up. Besides, All Might probably couldn't help much anyways. He was so strong that he'd probably never had the same issue.

He trusted it would go away with time.

—

 **Notes: Yes, Deku will be getting One For All! After the exams! That's that! There are reasons for this, and it is something I've had planned for a while.**

 **So, expect another long wait. It's gonna be something that happens a lot, unfortunately. But, I am thinking of doing a smaller story to refresh my brain from just doing this story, so that's something to be watchful for.**

 **As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	25. The End-Of-Semester Brick Wall

**Bwahahaha** **! I'm finally done! I hated doing this and I'm glad it's over.**

 **I actually got a lot more done in this chapter than I thought, so there's that. And I think I did decent, considering there is no "bad match" for Deku in the final exam. And, as far as that's concerned, all is not as it seems, and you'll have to wait till next chapter to know everything. But I'll drop that for now ;)**

 **Reviews:**

 **EVERYONE ASKING ABOUT ONE FOR ALL: Love seeing your thoughts on it! I can't wait to show you how it'll manifest!**

 **Everyone about saying All Might was the 7th user: Yes, the number of OFA users was just a mistake.**

 **People asking how I'll handle the training camp: Dunno! I have a couple ideas but haven't singled one out yet.**

 **Swiftwolfbeta: He doesn't _exactly_ have telekinesis, or at least it doesn't run on ESP. It's a Quirk which works very similarly to telekinesis, however it is stated that Quirks, in general, are physical abilities.**

 **Guest: I would've DM'd you sooner if you commented with an account, but YES! I'd love to see fans adapt my work in their own ways! Art, dubs, or anything else would be really cool!**

 **To those who asked why it says there was an update the other day, I did add and then remove a chapter with an update about my lack of posting. So, yeah. This is the real update.**

 **~Shout-out zone~**

 ** _Embers_ by Paint-The-World-Mad is an amazing, fun story. it's not exactly an original basis, since it's about Deku having the ability to pull fire, but the way in which it is executed is brilliant. It's a fun story that shines in its portrayals of the different characters and their interactions. It comes with a couple of OCs, but I've grown to appreciate them almost as much as the standard cast of the canon. I cannot recommend this underrated story enough.**

 **In fact, I recommend it so much that I'm not recommending a second story this chapter.**

 **~End shout-out zone~**

 **In case you don't read my comment replies and this interests you, if anyone wants to do art, dubs, etc based on this story, then I'm all for it! Be sure to let me know so I can check it out!**

—

 _End-Of-Semester Brick Wall_

Ochako was jogging behind Deku on their Saturday morning run. They hadn't done it the weekend prior due to their internships, so it felt good to once again go past the familiar buildings and streets. She had even started recognizing the same people as they moved along their routine route. But today, there was something different about their run. It took her a while to notice, but by the time they had reached the halfway point she was sure that Deku was slower than usual.

Ochako had gotten faster over the weeks she spent running with him, and by now could run the entire route instead of stopping midway, but she still shouldn't be able to keep up with him as much as she was.

That wouldn't have been too alarming on its own—after all, even _Deku_ may have off days. But ever since the day they returned from internships, he'd been acting a bit strange. His speech was barely more hurried, he'd stare off into space even more often than usual, and he was getting a bit clumsy during hero training. Even now as they were taking their water break, she noticed bags under his eyes that weren't there before. He was fatigued and exhausted, and she could tell. But... Why?

"Hey Deku, how are ya doing?" she asked.

"I'm good," he nodded. "How about yourself?"

"Ah, you know... hah... Still breathing," she chuckled. "You're slower than usual today. I was keeping up more than normal."

"Or maybe you're just faster than you think," Deku chuckled and wiped at his eyes. Then he stood up straight and stretched his back, before saying, "Well, let's finish up our run."

They finally returned to Deku's house, where Inko had prepared them a good breakfast. Ochako gushed about how good it was, and Inko was so happy that the girl was satisfied, and Deku just laughed uncomfortably at their interactions. They stayed and talked a bit more, and before they knew it, it was time for Ochako to leave.

"Thanks again for the breakfast Inko," Ochako bowed.

"Oh of course Ochako," Inko smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" Deku asked. "Same time?"

"Yeah, sure," she nodded. "B-But actually, um, Deku... I-I'm having some some trouble with some of our Math and English subjects and was wondering, if, um... With, uh, final exams coming up and everything, could you maybe help me study a bit tomorrow?"

"Sure, I'd be happy to," he nodded with a smile.

"Great! Thanks, I really appreciate it!" Ochako smiled brightly.

—

Izuku cracked down on the books for a while until lunch time, all the while utilizing his handheld workout equipment. Then, he began an actual exercise session. He'd slowed down on these during school and with everything going on in the past couple of months, but after his conversation with All Might he decided to build his body a bit more to eventually handle One For All.

He alternated mainly between push ups, curls, pull ups and lunges for a few hours, with other exercises and stretches interspersed between them. Then he did something he hadn't done for a longer while: he took a jog down to Dagobah Municipal Beach Park. Once there, he was glad to see that the beach was still relatively clean and was being enjoyed by quite a few people. Still, there _was_ some trash here and there along the otherwise picturesque shore. So he grabbed a plastic bag and walked along, filling it with garbage from the sand.

He was recognized by plenty of people and some even asked to get pictures with him or autographs. He was actually starting to get used to this kind of thing, as strange as it sounded. Relatively, at least. It was still definitely a new experience and he wasn't exactly in his element.

Izuku finished filling his bag, then he made his way back to the top of the beach where there was a trash can to toss it. He looked over the beach again, over the people enjoying their afternoon on the white sand. This... was less people than those that died in Hosu.

He shook his head and sighed, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before turning around and walking home.

—

The next day, Izuku and Ochako went on another run and ate breakfast together once again. Then, they sat down in his room and got to studying. At first it was a lot of regular schoolwork, with Ochako asking Izuku plenty of questions about this and that. She really did seem to need help studying. Then, after a while, she surprised Izuku with another kind of question.

"Hey, Deku... Are you sleeping alright?"

"Uh, I— huh?" he looked at her, wide-eyed.

"I dunno, you've been acting kinda funny lately," she shrugged. "And you're running slower, and you have pretty big bags under your eyes."

"O-Oh, uh, yeah," he scratched the back of his head. "I'm fine, don't worry."

"Okay, let me change my phrasing," Ochako sighed. "I know something's wrong. What's up?"

Izuku glanced away and gulped, since each and every individual obstacle to his sleep was something that he couldn't tell her or didn't want to tell her.

The One for All situation? Über-classified. His single-handedly fighting off the hero killer Stain? Mostly a lie, as he'd be dead without Shoto and Tenya's backup, and the truth of that was also classified. The frequent nightmares about Hosu and the rare ones of the USJ? He mostly just felt silly about that. It had been almost 2 weeks since that night and even longer since the USJ, and he still suffered from them. Besides, nightmares were such a childish thing to have and he thought she'd think he was dumb or something.

"Well?" Ochako asked after a couple of moments waiting for a response.

"I-I said I'm fine—"

"And I said you're _not_!" she insisted. "You're way out of it Deku."

"Uraraka, I... I'm sorry," he sighed. "I'm just stressed about the exam."

"That's not it," she said. "Something's been wrong since we got back from the internships. Is it about that night in Hosu? Stain?"

"It's... Yeah, it is," he (mostly) lied.

"You gotta talk to someone if it's botherin' ya that much," Ochako told him. "Even talk to _me_ , if it'd help ya feel better."

"... Yeah, you're right," he sighed. "I've been... having nightmares. Most nights."

"Fighting Stain all on your own must've been tough," Ochako nodded.

Izuku clenched his fist slightly. Yeah, going mono-e-mono with Stain would've been tough. In fact, he would have died. Or, maybe not? He was still confused about Stain's kill criteria. Either way, he definitely wouldn't have won without Shoto and Tenya. And even now, Ochako was talking like he was some big hero when he really wasn't. He didn't deserve that.

"Deku?" Ochako asked, as he'd been silent for a while.

"O-Oh, sorry, spaced out," he chuckled uncomfortably. "It's just that... Stain isn't the only thing bugging me."

But he couldn't tell anyone the truth of that fight.

"That night, before I even fought Stain, I was helping heroes with damage control from the Nomu attack," he said, and he shook at the memory. "A Nomu... destroyed a building, right in front of me. There were so many bodies... Some crushed, some burned, some burning _alive_ in front of me... There were so many people, and I... couldn't save all of them. I keep seeing them, in my nightmares. Their faces... They were _alive_ until that day, and I couldn't... I _didn't_ save them."

Izuku sniffed and wiped away tears from his face, chuckling dryly at himself. He felt pretty pathetic at this point.

"But you _did_ save so many!" Ochako protested. "On the news, I watched the interviews! The survivors and heroes mentioned how much you helped out!"

"But I should've done _more_!" he cried and shoved his hands into his eyes.

"No, no one would expect that from you!" she argued, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him. "If ya weren't there in the first place, way more people woulda died! And you wouldn't feel guilty about it then. But since you _were_ there, you were able to save people! Then you went on to fight Stain and save Iida, Todoroki and Native on top of that! What you did that night was incredible!"

" _But I still—_ "

"You couldn't have saved everyone Deku," she said as she wrapped her arms around him and embraced him. "Nobody can save everyone, not even All Might."

" _They were right there,_ " he sobbed into her shoulder as he hugged her back. " _I watched them die in front of me_."

"Shh, shh, it's okay," she whispered and rubbed his back. "Let it out."

"WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Inko yelled as she burst into the room, shocking both of the teens. "IZUKU WHAT HAPPENED?!"

—

Inko sat both of them down, and got them tea to help them relax. Then, once Izuku could speak coherently again, he told them all about the nightmares.

"But Izuku sweetie, you can't blame yourself for each person you couldn't save," his mother said. "You saved more than your fair share of people."

"She's right," Ochako nodded in agreement.

"But... Why should they have died when someone else was saved because of circumstance?" Izuku sighed. "I mean, I know it's because of circumstance, but the thought that they hoped to get rescued, and then weren't saved while someone else was, just feels unfair. They deserved to live just as much as anyone who I did save."

"But that's not your fault to begin with dear," Inko shrugged. "It's the villains' fault."

"I... I mean..." Izuku's shoulders slumped. "But that's what heroes are for, isn't it? To save people from villains."

"You _did_ save people," Ochako groaned.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Yeah, I know. It's just— I dunno..."

"I kinda get it Deku," she conceded. "I wasn't there, I didn't see it... I have no idea what's makin' you feel like this. And I ain't an expert, so..."

"Do you... think you _should_ see an expert or something?" Inko asked. "Like... a therapist?"

"No, no I don't need to," he said quickly.

"Have you talked to All Might about it?" Ochako asked.

"W-Well, no," he admitted.

"He's been a hero for a long time, so he can probably help ya sort this thing out," she said.

"Probably," he sighed before finishing his tea. "Thanks."

—

"What is it Young Midoriya?" Toshinori asked as the two sat down in the teacher's lounge (which was now becoming their frequent meeting room). "Questions about One For All?"

"N-No, not that," Izuku explained. "I-It's just... For a while, I've been having some... issues with sleep."

"Hm? Oh, well I can't say I haven't noticed," he chuckled. "You've been a bit of a mess."

"It was obvious?"

"Yes," the teacher nodded. "I assumed you'd either handle it yourself or bring it up if you needed, so I didn't pry. But, what is it that's affecting your sleep?"

"A-A few things," he admitted. "But mostly nightmares, recently."

"Hm? So that's it," he sighed. "I can't say I'm unfamiliar with those. So what is it? The fight with Stain?"

Izuku explained exactly what was bothering him at night. The deaths, destruction and trauma of the Hosu attack, and the lies about that night, as well as the lingering effects of the USJ. Toshinori counseled him as best he could, and did actually alleviate much of the guilt he felt. Even All Might couldn't save everyone, and the Stain situation was essentially best-case scenario considering the circumstances. Hearing those things from the #1 himself really helped. But, as the weeks went on, he still suffered from occasional sleepless nights.

He spent those weeks studying and preparing for the exams, and helping Ochako on the weekends. He was overstressed, what with all that _and_ the extra weight of One For All hanging over his head while he dealt with regular life.

Finally though, he was through it all and the day of the exams rolled around.

—

" _That_ _was hell_ ," Denki groaned.

"I know, even after Yaomomo's tutoring," Mina sighed.

"I didn't think it was all too bad," Ochako commented.

The class had finished the written semester exam, and were now assembling for the practical. They weren't very worried about that part, since they had heard from Class 1-B's Itsuka that the test would be a scenario against robots. However...

"What if we _failed_?!" Mina cried. "I can't stay for summer school while you all go to the camp!"

"I'm sure you did fine," Momo laughed lightly. "You seemed to understand most of the concepts when we studied."

"But that's not under pressure like it was today!" Mina argued.

"Yeah, it was tough man," Denki agreed.

"When is Sensei gonna show up?" Katsuki groaned. "I'm ready to fuck up some bots already."

"Look!" Izuku exclaimed as he pointed out Aizawa approaching them along with the rest of U.A.'s staff.

"What're the other pros doing here, kero?" Tsuyu ribbitted.

"Good afternoon students!" Principal Nezu announced, appearing from under Aizawa's scarf. "Are you prepared to take part in the practical examination?!"

"Yeah, no sweat!" Rikido said confidently.

"It's just a brawl with robots, right?" Denki asked.

"Impressive, you gathered information!" Nezu laughed. "Unfortunately it's outdated and utterly _wrong_! Ahahaha!"

"Say _what_?!" the class exclaimed.

"With the increase in villain activity recently, we've decided that robot opponents are rather easy and impractical as measurements of your abilities. So, you will all be pairing up to take on the teachers!"

"HUH?!"

"Your pairs and opponents were decided by us," Nezu continued. "It was based on grades, Quirks, personalities, relationships, and our own observations!"

"First up," Aizawa grinned, "Todoroki and Yaoyorozu... You'll be facing me..! And next... Tokoyami, Aoyama, against Ectoplasm."

" _I shine_ ," Yuga winked at Fumikage, who looked away with a sigh.

"Midoriya, Shoji," Nezu announced, "face MMEEEEEEE!"

"The principal?!" Izuku gulped.

"Hitoshi, Sero, Midnight.

Koda, Jiro, Present Mic.

Iida, Ojiro, Power Loader.

Kirishima, Sato, Cementoss.

Bakugo, Uraraka—"

" ** _Me!_** " All Might announced from out of nowhere.

"All Might?!" Katsuki exclaimed.

"W- _What?!_ " Ochako squeaked.

" **Neither of you can beat me,** " All Might laughed. " **But work together, and you might pass! Ahahaha!** "

"Uraraka and Kacchan against _All Might_?!" Izuku gawked.

—

"They're giving us almost no time to prepare," Izuku sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "What do you think, Shoji?"

"The Principal's Quirk makes him an excellent warrior of intellect," the six-armed teen mused. "I expect that he has a plan to deal with us. That being said, my reconnaissance ability with your telekinesis' overall versatility is a decent match."

"It is," Izuku agreed. "If you tell me about obstacles or hazards I should be able to deal with them, _not that_ you _couldn't_ , but I wonder why they put us together then... Principal Nezu definitely knows that our Quirks don't clash."

"Your Quirk is a good match with almost anyone in our class, Midoriya," Mezo pointed out. "Our pairing was more likely the result of other students' evaluations."

"But still, the principal has to be taking us on with a plan," he sighed.

On top of his own match, Izuku was honestly concerned about Ochako and Katsuki facing All Might.

—

"I hope I don't receive too many patients this year," Recovery Girl complained. "Changing the exam from robots to this... It's just too much!"

"Now now Chiyo, you know why we're doing this," Toshinori sighed.

"Precisely why I hate this idea!" she exclaimed. "Causing them harm, putting them in stressful situations, and maybe _ruining their grades_ will not prepare them for the future villains."

"That's not the point," Aizawa sighed.

"That stress is the kind of thing they'll need to get used to quick," Nezu chirped.

"... It's almost time," the deflated All Might sighed.

—

"It ain't that hard Round Face!" Katsuki shouted. "Just make me weightless and I'll handle the rest!"

"That might work for the rest of the teachers but we're against _All Might_ ," Ochako argued. "And stop calling me that!"

" _The test will begin shortly! Please prepare yourselves!_ " the principal's voice announced over the speaker.

"I'm tellin ya, just distract him so I can touch him from behind and make him weightless!" Ochako told Katsuki. "Then he'll be immobilized!"

"No fucking way!" he snapped. "I'm not a _distraction_ , and I can _handle_ this! Just make me weightless so I can get past him!"

" _3, 2, 1_..."

"Fine!" Ochako exclaimed in frustration, slapping his shoulder.

" _Begin!_ "

Katsuki flew up into the air, propelled by his explosions and unhindered by gravity, then he blasted off towards the finish using the explosive gauntlets. He was moving _fast_. In fact he probably would have crossed the entire faux city in a matter of seconds, except All Might jumped up and swatted him down like a fly.

If the force of All Might's hit wasn't enough on its own, there was also the fact that Katsuki was moving who knows how fast before meeting that brick wall of a hand, and the impact with the ground. Well, now that he thought about it, All Might probably didn't hit him _too_ hard. After all, he was still conscious to see the hero land in front of him.

' _I thought the weights would slow him down more than that_ ,' he grunted inwardly.

" **You fool,** " All Might thundered intimidatingly. " **I'll kill you, then every last civilian in this city! Because I'm evil, AHAHAHA!** "

—

"There are sounds of... heavy objects shifting," Mezo told Izuku as he listened around with his tentaclears.

A sudden crash from above Izuku caught his attention, and he looked up to see a piece of pipe falling towards them. He shouted at Mezo to get his attention as he used his telekinesis to catch the metal projectile, then looked back up to see a much wider array of debris on their way down.

"Let's move!" Mezo exclaimed as he picked up Izuku and started running in the direction of the exit. Then, more debris began falling down at the end of the alley. "Oh no, this way will get blocked!"

"No it won't, keep running!" Izuku said.

He took the metal pipe, which he was still holding in his telekinesis, and positioned it below the debris. He spun it quickly, like a helicopter blade, to block most of the debris. Enough of it was delayed for the two of them to get through unscathed, and Shoji continued beelining it for the exit. Then, another bang sounded.

"C-Crap! Look out Shoji!"

"I see it!"

The wall of a tall building had exploded outwards and dense debris showered down on the road in front of them. Then, several other buildings around them seemed to fall apart as well.

"W-Where even is he?" Izuku asked.

"I can't tell..!" Mezo responded. "There are always several smaller bangs before each major building explodes, so if I can find that source... And follow the bangs... I can predict where he'll try to block us!"

Mezo was able to navigate the labrynth of destruction caused by the principal fairly well, until they almost reached the end. _Almost_ was the key word.

"Oh no!" the large teen shouted as a pile of debris crashed down, blocking the exit.

Izuku immediately began lifting the rubble, but Mezo had to jump back to avoid more falling concrete.

"What is this? A no-pass scenario?!" he shouted.

"No, I can lift it all! I just need time!" Izuku said. "Plus, there isn't an unlimited amount of buildings right near the exit. Soon enough, he won't be able to attack this spot anymore."

—

" **URAVITY** **!** " All Might thundered as Ochako darted between alleys. " **You think _hiding_ is an option? If you don't approach the exit or me, then you _lose_! If you do approach, I will attack you head-on and make you _lose_! In both situations, you _lose_! So come out and stop wasting time!**"

' _That idiot Bakugo went and got himself knocked out_ ,' she complained in her head. ' _I couldn't give him any backup since he rushed ahead so quick, and now All Might is holding him hostage. He overestimated his own speed!_ _But I... need to do this!_ '

Ochako was getting out of breath from exerting herself so much, but it wasn't as bad as she expected. Her stamina was increased during her runs with Deku, after all. But that didn't make her stomach feel any less queasy.

' _Alright, I can do this, I can do this—_!'

"Release!"

As the sound of crashing debris sounded, Ochako ran out from behind the building and dove behind some of her makeshift cover. All Might would only be busy with blocking falling debris for a moment, so she had to be quick while he was distracted. She darted behind concrete blocks, vehicles, couches, and other things she had floated over the street before.

As she moved, she floated two objects that already landed: a car, and a table she had found inside of a building. She pushed the car so it flew above All Might, and took the table with her as she kept pushing forward. She released the car and All Might caught it, as she ran to the back of him.

" **Trying to distract me and then sneak out of the exit? Smart, ahahaha!** " Then All Might tossed the vehicle away and reared to punch straight at Ochako. " **BUT FOOLISH!** "

She raised the table as a shield and let it hang there, unaffected by gravity, as she slid underneath. All Might couldn't see past the table, so he just followed through with his punch as if Ochako was still behind it. But, by the time he realized where she was, she had already passed under his legs and made him weightless.

" **YOU—** **!** " he shouted, before punching at her again.

This time, it connected. Ochako felt what she assumed was bones breaking in her shoulder and back, and tears crept into her eyes. But, at the same time, All Might went flying back through multiple buildings from the force of his own punch.

"Hah... Ouch..." Ochako sighed, rolling onto her stomach. "I guess... that did it..."

She looked up at where the exit was, then at Katsuki's impromptu metal prison. The blonde was closer and she didn't know whether she could make it all the way to the finish, so she used her good arm to crawl over to him.

"Here," she groaned as she made the bars weightless.

Katsuki stood up and slowly untangled himself from the bent railing. The weightlessness didn't make that part easier perse, but it did allow him to reposition himself in an easier way.

"I thought I could make it," he grunted.

"You're so stupid," Ochako groaned. "Ya shoulda just... * _ouch_ *... followed my plan..."

" _I'm_ stupid?!" Katsuki exclaimed incredulously. "You just took on _All Might,_ and got fuckin pounded!"

"You did too though," she pointed out.

 ** _THUD_**

" **You haven't won yet!** "

—

"I'm almost done!" Izuku told Mezo as he moved debris away from the exit.

Mezo glanced back at the fake city, which was currently being destroyed by the principal. None of the buildings were close enough to affect the two of them, so he wasn't very worried.

"Alright," Izuku panted. "Let's go."

"Right," Mezo nodded.

They passed through the exit gate, and the cartoony illustration of the principal have a thumbs up and a "Good job!"

—

All Might stood in front of Katsuki and Ochako, grinning confidently.

"H-How?" Ochako asked. "I haven't released my Quirk yet..!"

" **True, Young Uraraka, but you failed to take every variable into consideration!** " the number one hero explained. " **You did make my body weightless, but you forgot that I am wearing these weights on my wrists and ankles! Though I'm only anchored by a fraction of my normal weight, I just have to adjust my power so I don't send myself flying!** "

"So what you're saying is that you ain't packing as much of a punch as before?" Katsuki asked. "Then I'll be letting you know right now... I'm gonna get to that exit."

The blonde grinned and blasted off to his right, but All Might moved in a flash—even faster than before—and was upon him.

" **I never said that, Young Bakugo** **!** " he laughed, then kicked and buried his foot to anchor himself in the ground. " **Don't misread the situation!** "

"Take your own advice, All Might!" Katsuki screamed. "I ain't STUPID!"

He hit the ground directly with an explosion, and All Might's feet were dislodged. The number one hero stopped his punch mid-swing in order to stop himself from flying back, but Katsuki acted in that second of hesitation. He jumped up, planted his foot on All Might's face, then leapt up again from there.

"This'll at least stun you!" he smiled wildly as his body corkscrewed through the air above his opponent. " _HOWITZER IMPACT!_ "

Katsuki's hand impacted All Might's face and let loose the mother of all explosions. The pro had dismantled his gauntlets when he had caught him earlier, but this blast was just as strong as one that they could muster. Without the gauntlets, though, his bones rattled and his arm tore from the force.

Katsuki landed a few feet from Ochako, and looked back at the plume of smoke where All Might was.

"G-Go!" the brunette told him. "Even if he can recover, this is your chance to get to the exit!"

"No shit!" he panted as he hauled himself up. "Use your Quirk on yourself, that way I can carry you out easier."

"Um... Okay," she sighed, then took a deep breath in before taking away her own weight. Katsuki picked her up by the arm and she yelled, "OWOWOW! L-Let go!"

"Why?!"

"I-I think it's broken!"

"Shut up, dumbass! That's your fault!" he yelled, then he shoved her to float over the exit and walked across with her.

"Good job!" the principal's image said with a thumbs up.

—

 **Notes:** **Okay, so, the exam with Deku and Shoji seemed pretty short and easy. There's a reason for that, so sh.**

 **I'm probably gonna gloss over the other fights next chapter as well, at least the changed ones. And then, yes, I'll get to the next arc. Woohoo! I think I can get the next chapter done quicker, so look forward to it!**

 **As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	26. Worst Case Scenario Part 1, 2, and 3

**Hey readers! I return with more written word! I apologize that it's taken me two months to write this, but I've rather been enjoying life and have lost much of my drive to write. Honestly, I had no idea what to do with this chapter until 2 days ago, and I wrote most of it in those two days. Well, it happens.**

 **Anyways, I know you've been asking for things and leaving suggestions and critiquing this, and I know you've been waiting. I hope this chapter fulfills your hopes in some ways!**

 **Review Time**

 **Malchior: I made that assumption as well. It makes sense that Ochako had conscious control over what becomes weightless since she was able to make only her own shoes weightless, but at the same time can make someone weightless by touching their shirt.**

 **Supa Thicc1219: Well Ochako's plan was smart but executed poorly, that's what i meant to say. And about the "saving Ochako's life" thing, it's true Nedzu would never let that happen but it never got to that point. So it's more the action and result, rather than the safety nets in place.**

 **MightyMackinac: Don't worry, the League won't kidnap Deku instead of Bakugo.**

 **DragonStorm88: I don't know whether I'm happy or disappointed that I'm being spread through iFunny.**

 **There's no Shout-Out time today. As I've barely been writing, I haven't been picking up new stories either. I'll try to find something good for next time!**

 _I_ _do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

—

 _Worst Case Scenario Part 1, 2, And 3_

"How did you guys do?" Denki asked Yuga and Fumikage.

"I _shined_!" Yuga smiled radiantly.

"We failed," Fumikage explained.

"Whaaat? _You_? How?" Mina asked.

"I shined!" Yuga exclaimed.

"My Quirk, Dark Shadow, is weaker in bright light," Fumikage translated. "Aoyama's Navel Laser worked against me."

"Oui," the blonde looked down ashamedly. "It was a shameful display."

"His laser isn't good against large groups, and Ectoplasm overwhelmed us easily."

"Aww man," Denki sighed. "Well _we_ passed!"

"Yeah!" Mina nodded and grinned brightly. "This guy's indiscriminate discharge was able to stun Thirteen long enough for me to slide in close and capture her!"

Class 1-A was done with their first semester exams, and the students were discussing with each other excitedly and worriedly.

"We were able to capture Snipe, kero," Tsuyu croaked.

"Yeah, I found him while Tsuyu jumped around and took his attention!" Tooru said. "B-But he touched my b-boobs on accident..."

"You sure it was on accident?" Mina teased.

" _I HOPE!_ " the invisible girl squeaked.

"What Midnight did certainly wasn't an accident," Hitoshi said.

"He still won't tell me," Hanta complained. "Midnight's power knocked me out first, so all I know is that _somehow_ we won."

"W-What happened Shinso?" Izuku asked hesitantly.

"I was able to use my Quirk on her," he shrugged. "That's all I'm saying."

—

 _"M-My boobs aren't old and saggy!" Midnight defended. "SEE?!"_

 _Luckily, Hitoshi's Quirk took effect before she did anything... drastic._

—

"But why did her Quirk affect Sero first?" Izuku pondered.

"Probably because of Shinso's mask," Hanta shrugged.

"Sit down, shut up," Aizawa sighed as he walked in. "The results for the class are in. Everybody passed the written portion, somehow."

"WOOHOO!" the class cheered.

"That being said, some of you didn't pass the practical portion. Eijiro Kirishima, Rikido Sato, Yuga Aoyama, Fumikage Tokoyami, you all completely failed."

"Ouch," Eijiro winced.

"But some of you failed despite your team passing the objectives," he continued. "Hanta Sero, you did nothing and Shinso won the battle singlehandedly."

"Damnit," he sighed.

"Now, as you are aware, there were the options of either escaping or capturing. That was put in place to test your decision-making skills," he explained. "For some, like Uraraka and Bakugo who were facing All Might, escape is a clear, fair option. But Midoriya, Shoji... You ran away while the Principal destroyed 90% of the buildings in the faux city. If that was a real situation, the loss of life would have been catastrophic. After taking a vote, the staff decided that you two also failed."

"W-What?!" Izuku gasped.

Meanwhile, Mezo tensed and grunted.

"Heh..." Bakugo chuckled.

"I said that those who failed wouldn't attend the training camp, but that was a lie," Aizawa said, to much rowdy applause. Once they calmed down, he continued, "That was just a logical ruse to incentivize your full effort. Really, those who failed will need the camp the most of all. However, it'll be hell for you. You'll need to complete remedial classes to make up your grade on top of the rest of the training."

—

"I'm glad you can come after all," Tenya said to Izuku as they walked. "This sounds like an irreplaceable chance to hone our skills."

"Yeah," Izuku sighed.

"But I'd expect you, of all people, to think of a twist like that, Midoriya," Denki said.

"It was the same concept as hero points, kinda," Izuku sighed. "I dunno, I've been under a lot of stress lately."

"Yeah, I get it man," Kirishima laughed. "I mean, my plan kinda sucked way worse than yours. So, don't feel too bad."

"Thanks," he smiled. "Well, I should go home now. See you tomorrow at the mall guys!"

Izuku walked away after waving at his friends, then pretty soon reached the train station.

 _*Bzzzt* *Bzzzt* *Bzzzt*_

"Hm?" Izuku looked down at his phone as it vibrated.

 _Incoming Call_

 _Toshinori_ _-Sensei_

' _All Might_?' he wondered. "Hello?"

—

Ochako always went to the same train station as Izuku, so she normally walked there with him. Unfortunately she got caught up in a conversation with Mina, so she was late and rushed to catch up with him. She really hoped he was still there. Then, she saw him leaning against a pillar and talking on the phone.

She didn't want to interrupt so she didn't call out to him, but she approached from behind. Then she heard him talking.

"When should I meet you?" he asked. "And how long should it take?

"Really?...

"Then we'll meet again tomorrow?

"Sounds good.

"She'll be there too?

"That makes sense... What should I tell my mom?"

' _W_ _-Who is he talking to?_ ' Ochako thought.

"Okay, then I'll see you at 8 tonight," he said before hanging the phone up.

"H-Hey Deku!" Ochako greeted as she walked over to him. "Who ya talking to?"

"U-Um..." he stuttered, and considered for a second. "It was All Might."

"What's up?" she asked.

"He wants to talk about something," he said. "It's probably because I failed the exam."

"Eh, don't beat yourself up about it," she waved her hand. "You made an understandable mistake."

"But I should've realized," he told her. "The principal was blatantly destroying the buildings that we weren't even close to. He practically spelled it out for us!"

"But you had no reason to assume—"

"It's the same as the rescue points," Izuku sighed. "I should've thought about it."

Ochako sighed in defeat. Really, he wasn't wrong. He, of all people, should've been able to surmise the twist. But he didn't... Why not?

"Have you been sleeping better lately?" Ochako asked.

"A bit," he replied. "... Not entirely."

"That could've been why," she said. "Hey Deku, you've been under a lot of stress lately... Now that we have time off from school you should relax a bit."

"I can't relax now," he shook his head. "I'm behind... I need to work even harder to become a great hero."

"You aren't behind at all," she giggled. "You're definitely a better hero than most of the rest of us, especially considering what you did during your internship."

"That... was just by chance," he said. "The others would've done the same."

"I don't think they could've done as well as you though. You're pretty amazing after all."

Izuku laughed, "Thanks Uraraka, you always know how to put a smile on my face."

"S-S-Sure thing Deku!" she blushed and looked away.

"But I really can't relax now," he continued. "I have to... ah, lost my train of thought. But I'm sure All Might wants us all to go Plus Ultra, right? So I can't disappoint him!"

"Yeah," she sighed, "I guess you're right. 'Plus Ultra!'"

They bumped fists and smiled at each other, and then a train rolled into the station.

"Looks like I gotta go now," Izuku said. "I'll see you tomorrow for our run?"

"Sure! Also, remember our class shopping trip!" she nodded. Then she blushed as she said, "But um, Deku, w-when I said that you should relax before, I was kinda thinking that... maybe, I dunno, we could... go... out?"

"... Go out?" Izuku asked, feeling frozen to the spot. "A-As in... another date?"

Ochako didn't say anything, but nodded her head as her face turned crimson.

"I'd love to!" he announced a bit too loudly.

"Really?!" Ochako beamed.

"Yeah! But I gotta go now!" he said, gesturing to the train. "I'll text you about it later!"

"B-Bye Deku!" Ochako waved as he hopped onto his train and rode off.

—

' _Ugh, what am I doing?_ ' Ochako sighed internally as she crouched outside Izuku's apartment building.

She knew she shouldn't have been, but there was something about what Izuku said that made her suspicious. The things he said on the phone didn't add up. Sure, he was meeting All Might. That was the believable part, as odd as that sounded, but then he mentioned a "she" being there. His mom was staying home, so who else would know about him and All Might?

Ochako furrowed her brow in frustration. She hated this weird, heavy feeling she had in her chest.

Izuku left his home about a quarter till 8, then walked to Dagobah beach unknowingly tailed by Ochako.

"Hello Young Midoriya!" All Might greeted in his skinny form.

"Hello All— Uh, Toshinori-Sensei," Izuku greeted.

"Hello Young Midoriya," he smiled. "So, finally done with one semester at UA!"

"Yeah, done as in _failed_ ," the student groaned.

"Ugh, you didn't do something as simple as fail," All Might said, crossing his arms. "You succeeded, however you didn't _excel_. You didn't go beyond! Plus Ultra!"

"But I should've known..."

"No, you shouldn't have," All Might said. "There was a reason this issue was brought to a vote. Nedzu himself hadn't expected to add this extra wrinkle to the exam. It was a last-minute decision, and he had all of the teachers vote on whether it was fair to judge you on it."

"But with the way he destroyed the city... it should've been my first instinct to try to stop him."

"And in a real situation, you would have done so," All Might reassured him. "That being said, I did vote to have you fail."

"W-What?!" Izuku's jaw dropped to the floor. "Why?!"

"Because! It won't affect your grade as long as you take the remedial courses! And a little extra effort never hurt anybody, right?!"

"I-I thought I lost the training camp because of you!" Izuku cried.

"Ah, sorry sorry," he laughed. "Well, you really will need that training camp. If nothing else, you'll want to hone One For All."

"I-I don't know about that," he said, becoming grim. "I don't think I deserve it... I feel like I let you down, and this is too big for my shoulders."

"No, you have done no such thing!" All Might announced. "You are the only one I can trust to inherit my abilities Young Midoriya! It's your heart that makes you worthy, not such a small mistake! Don't let this thing get in the way of your future."

"Yeah, you're right," he nodded. "I won't let you down!"

"That's the spirit!" Toshinori grinned. "Now that you're pumped, let's get this thing underway!"

"N-Now? I'm not sure if I'm ready..."

"Now!" All Might pressured. "So, there is only one way to pass this Quirk down to you! You must ingest some of my DNA!"

"W-What?!" Izuku gawked.

"I figured the least disgusting way to do this is for you to eat this!" he said, holding up a stand of hair.

"That's plenty disgusting!" he argued.

"Would you rather eat some skin flakes?"

"Eh?!"

"Or drink my SALIVA?!"

"EH?! N-NO THANKS!" Izuku exclaimed.

"I thought not," Toshinori chuckled. "So, Young Midoriya! Take this power upon your very heart! And EAT!"

"No.!"

"EAT!!"

"N-NOOO!"

He ate it.

 _'W-What did I just see?!'_ Ochako thought as she gagged. She was too far away to hear what they said aside from the frail man's yelling about eating, but what she _saw_ was disgusting.

"D-Don't throw up!" All Might told Izuku as the boy heaved. "You have to let it digest!"

"E-Easy for you to say!" Izuku cried.

"So, I have a few things to say," the hero said. "Tomorrow, we're meeting in the evening, around the same time as today. Until then, do NOT use your Quirk under ANY circumstances! We don't know how One For All may affect it, so wait until Recovery Girl is with us to avoid potential injury or worse!"

"Deal," Izuku sighed after finally getting the hair to stay down. "No Quirk at all."

"Good" he nodded. "I have to go meet Nedzu about something, so I'll see you tomorrow Young Midoriya."

"See you tomorrow Toshinoro-Sensei!"

"And remember, you have never even once left me disappointed!" All Might said. Then, he glanced around to confirm he saw nobody, and buffed up. " **I'll see you around Young Man!** "

Ochako's jaw hit the floor as All Might jumped away. "T-That was..! H-How?! WHAT?!"

"U-Uraraka?!" Izuku shouted as he saw her.

Ochako squeaked as her cover was blown, and stuttered, "U-Um, h-h-hey Deku!"

"What are you doing here?!" he asked as he ran up to her.

"I-I should ask you that!" she suddenly turned on him. "Why did you eat All Might's hair? WAS THAT EVEN ALL M—"

"Stop! Don't say anything too loud!" Izuku interrupted. "I'll explain it, just stop yelling!"

"You'll explain it?" she asked.

"W-Well, I dunno if I can," Izuku said after a second thought. "I'll call All Might and tell him the situation I guess."

"I am just... _so_ confused!" she exclaimed, holding her head.

"Y-Yeah, well you weren't exactly supposed to see that," he said. "What _were_ you doing here?"

"W-Well, I mean..."

"You followed me, right?" he asked. "Why?"

"I-I... I overheard your phone call with All Might, okay?" she admitted. "I couldn't understand exactly what it was about, but I knew there was something you weren't telling me, so I... God, I'm sorry Deku... I should've just trusted you, but instead I ended up betraying _your_ trust..."

"I-It's fine Uraraka!" he assured her. "Really, someone was gonna get suspicious sooner or later, but I'm glad it was you out of everyone."

"B-But suspicious of what?!" Ochako said exasperatedly. "I'm still tryin to make sense of it!"

"Well, All Might said that he had to meet Principal Nedzu about something, so I can't just call him up," Izuku sighed. "I'll send him a text, so he can get back to me. Just... let's talk about it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, when we meet for our run," he nodded.

"I guess that's fine..." she sighed.

"... I'm really sorry Uraraka," Izuku said, "but this isn't something I can just tell anyone about. There's a reason I've kept it secret."

"I-I know," she looked down. "It's just really... something inside me is screaming 'Find out what's going on!', y'know?"

"Yeah. I'd be the same way."

There were a few moments of awkward silence before they finally agreed to go home and meet in the morning.

—

All Might sighed after exiting his meeting with Nedzu. He wasn't supposed to go along with the students for their summer training camp, since he was a target for the League of Villains and may attract trouble. That was preposterous of course, as he had to provide Izuku with guidance while he would be adjusting to One For All. After all the 20 minutes of talking, Nedzu left it at "I'll think about it," but All Might really hoped to have an answer soon.

The hero glanced down at his phone and saw two messages from—speak of the devil—Izuku.

 _Young Midoriya: ALL_ _MIGHT URARAKA WAS WATCHING WHEN YOU DEFLATED AND I ATE YOUR HAIR AND SHE STARTED ASKING WHAT WAS GOING ON AND I TOLD HER I'D ASK YOU!_

 _Young Midoriya: HELP!_

"... Shit."

—

"Good morning Uraraka," Izuku greeted when he stepped out of his apartment.

"Morning Deku," Ochako said rather quietly. "So, um... There a reason you told me not to wear my running clothes?"

"We aren't going on a run today," he said. "We have to wait out front to get picked up."

"So... All Might..?"

"Yes, All Might is going to explain it... I think. He didn't tell me exactly what he would say."

"I see," she nodded. "Y'know, I'm excited to find out! It's kinda cool you have a secret with All Might, y'know?"

"Yeah, I guess so," he said. "But it's still kinda... It feels wrong."

"Wrong?"

"I-I mean it's stressful!" he clarified. "And I'm not really good at... lying, so..."

"Ehehe, you're really earnest," she giggled.

"Hello, Young Midoriya! Young Uraraka!"

The two teens looked to their side to see the deflated All Might.

"Toshinori-Sensei," Izuku said as he approached him, "What are we going to say?"

"Well, I'll tell her about this," he said, gesturing to his skinny body. "Telling her about the hair and what it means... That's up to you."

"W-Why me?! Isn't it your secret?" he asked.

"Not anymore," he said. "Ah, speaking of, I'll remind you again to refrain from using your Quirk for the time being."

"Yeah..." he nodded, but really he was deep in thought about something much more important. Should he tell Ochako about One For All?

"If I may suggest... I myself have told a select few persons about my secret," All Might said. "You should carefully think about how much you trust Young Uraraka, and that should dictate your decision."

"How much I trust her...?"

—

All Might dropped them off at the Midoriya apartment, and left them with plenty of time before the planned class shopping trip. They greeted Inko, ate breakfast, and sat down in his room.

"So... That was a lot," Ochako said.

"Yeah, I mean—"

Ochako threw her arms around Izuku and pulled him into a tight hug.

"You idiot! Why are you putting yourself under so much stress?!" she asked. "On top of everything else you've told me, being the _successor to the number one_ _hero_ is too much! You shouldn't put yourself through all this!"

"I-I..." Izuku stuttered. "I chose to take this on, I can handle it."

"You shouldn't have to, not alone!" she insisted. "You're so, so strong Deku. But this... This is way too much! It's obvious that you're under too much stress, so let me support you! Please!"

"I don't know... I don't really know if I understand the implications of this myself," Izuku admitted. "But really, it's probably really, really dangerous. I mean, more dangerous than being a hero normally is. I don't want you to—"

"I'll be fine," she insisted. "Let me make sure you will be too. Besides I already know, so you can't just cut me off right now."

"... You're right," he sighed.

"So... we still on for that date?" she asked.

"I... I guess so, ahaha," he chuckled as he finally hugged her back. "You coming tonight when I meet All Might and Recovery Girl?"

"Duh," she giggled. "You're stuck with me."

"Uraraka... Thanks."

"Of course Deku, anytime," she said.

—

"Alright everyone!" Mina announced once the class was assembled. "Let the summer shopping spree begin!"

"Hey you, with the six big arms! And you with the giant calves!" a man called from a store, pointing at Mezo and Tenya. "We have special clothes just for you!"

"Woah, they're really pushing their products..." Izuku chuckled.

"Hey, it's them! The freshmen U.A. students from the sports festival!" someone called.

Suddenly, there was a frenzy of attention around them and Ochako uncomfortably giggled, "Ehe, they still remember us from that? Woah..."

"F-For the time being, let's focus on our shopping," Kyoka said.

"I need some outdoor shoes—"

"Oh, me too!"

"Well I really need to get a carrying bag..."

"How about we all go our separate ways and meet up later?" Eijiro asked.

"Good idea," Mina nodded.

"I don't have too many wrist weights, so I was thinking of getting some heavier ones to train with," Izuku said.

"You're so single minded," Ochako giggled. "I was thinking I need some big spray..."

"Oh, me too," he said. "Do you want to go together?"

"Sure!" she smiled. "Then I'll come with you to get some weights."

—

"That damn kid... Midoriya," Tomura Shigaraki groaned as he scratched his neck and watched Izuku and Ochako from afar.

—

"Woah, there's so much here!" Izuku marveled as he looked around the hero merchandise store. "Look, a limited edition Present Mic statuette! And a plushie Thirteen! And Look at that cool All Might figurine!"

Ochako giggled as she watched Izuku geek out over the hero merch. She thought it was really cute.

"So... I'm not really educated about this stuff," she said. "What's the kind of thing you'd get here?"

"I normally get a bunch of All Might stuff," he said. "I actually already have most of the stuff here though."

" _Really_?" she asked. "Whaddya not have?"

"Well, there's that figurine there, and that poster," he said, pointing at the two items.

"Hmm..." She squinted at the price tags for a moment. _YIKES_ , that figurine was way out of her price range. But the poster was... doable.

—

"Hey guys!" Mina waved and smiled as Ochako and Izuku met up with their group. "You guys done making out and stuff?"

"W-We weren't—!" Ochako's face exploded in red.

"W-We were just shopping! _SHOPPING_!" Izuku insisted.

"Yeah, sure," Mina grinned.

"I-I forgot something!" Ochako suddenly said before running away. "Wait for me!"

"Where's she going?" Denki asked.

"No idea," Izuku shrugged.

"Anyway, what'd you buy?" Eijiro asked.

"Well I got some bug repellant and these weights..."

—

Ochako left the hero merch shop with the All Might poster, satisfied with the purchase.

 _"You know, Izuku's birthday was just a few days ago," Inko said. "We never celebrate it on the day because it's usually around his end-of-term exams, but I was planning something special for tomorrow..."_

' _I_ _didn't even know I missed his birthday,_ ' Ochako sighed internally as she walked through the mall. ' _All that stress, plus the fact that nobody knew it was his birthday.._. _I want to make this birthday party really special!_ '

"Excuse me, young lady!" a voice called, getting Ochako's attention. "You're from U.A., right? Mind if I get a photo for my kid?"

"U-Um, I guess—"

"Smile!" he said as he put this arm around her and gripped her shoulder with all but one of his fingers, and he put up his cell phone to take a photo.

"Y-You're..!" Ochako gasped, recognizing the face on the phone screen.

"Yeah," Tomura Shigaraki rasped. "I was hoping to get Midoriya alone you know, but you kept him company all day... That's a bit annoying, you know?"

For a moment, Ochako felt relief because Izuku was safe, but then that almost immediately warped into panic as she realized what was happening to _her_ instead.

"Tsk tsk tsk," he shook his head and tightened his grip as he felt her attempt to move. "If you try anything, all I need to do to disintegrate you is touch you with my last finger... Then I'll have to get rid of all these witnesses too. I could kill so, so many people right now. Nobody thinks about it, y'know? They live in constant peril, they can die at any moment, but they smile and go on with their day. Why do you think that is?"

"I-I dunno... Because of h-heroes?" she ventured, reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone.

"I could kill... I dunno, what do _you_ think? How many people could I kill before a hero shows up?" Tomura asked, meanwhile Ochako typed away and silently thanked Izuku for giving her the idea. "Fifteen? Twenty? Oh, surely more than that, including you too. No, they aren't so secure right now because there's a shield of heroes between them and me... It's because they believe in morals. These obscure ideas, these... mottos and such that they teach in school... 'Treat others like you want to be treated,' that kind of thing. They assume people won't just throw away these ideas, these social constructs. Humanity survived countless generations without law and morality, this is all just a farce. I just, get this itch... I wanna get rid of it all."

"P-Please—"

"You wanna know something that's been troubling me lately?" Tomura asked in a much lighter tone as he led her to a bench and sat down. "Stain... That night, I unleashed Hell on Hosu, but everyone's focusing on _Stain._ Why, why is that? What is it about him that makes him steal my limelight? What's the difference between me and him?"

"I... I dunno," Ochako said. "I don't u-understand it either."

"Hey girlie, you're getting tense," he chuckled raspily. "What? Nervous? Scared? You should be. Everyone should be. Because I am here, hehehe..."

"W-Why... What do you want with me?" Ochako asked hesitantly.

"You... You're pretty close with Midoriya, right?" Tomura asked, and her eyes widened. "I really wanted to get him alone, but... You'll do just fine for now."

—

"Uraraka!" Izuku called as he shoved past people in the crowd.

Everyone's phone got her message at the same time, and they hurriedly split up to look for her. They agreed to send a group message as soon as any of them found her, but nobody's done so yet. Izuku glanced down again at her message—

 _Ochako: HELP_

"Damn it Uraraka," he said under his breath. "Where are you?!"

As he ran past the hero merch store, he glanced to his right and saw some bags sitting alone on a bench. One was from the store where they got bug spray, one was from the hero merch store, and one was from another store. He might have been a little paranoid—after all, she only had gotten the bug spray—but he checked anyways.

The first thing he noticed when he got close to the bags was a broken red flip phone. It was the same as Ochako's.

"N-No..." he said under his breath.

Against his better judgement, he checked the bags. Bug spray was in one bag, the hero merch bag had the All Might poster that he told Ochako he didn't have yet, and the third bag had a 'Happy Birthday!' card with an envelope.

Izuku put a hand over his mouth and tried to fight back tears, though that didn't really stop them. Whatever happened... whatever it was, she called for help and nobody answered. And now she was missing. The fact that he didn't even know what happened was the worst part.

Izuku remembered, he was supposed to tell the group chat when he found anything. He felt a little numb as he told the chat where he was. Then, he looked down at the bags. The poster and the birthday card... She got them for him, didn't she? That's what she went back for... Was this his fault?

Before another thought could hit him, a hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him.

"Midoriya!" Tenya exclaimed. "Where is Uraraka?!"

"I... I don't know..!" Izuku cried, showing him the crushed phone. "I-I just f-found it here... A-And the bags..."

"Oh no..." Tenya gasped. "I'll call the police and have a look around! Midoriya, don't you have a way to contact All Might?"

"U-Um... Uh, y-yeah, I can," he nodded.

Soon the rest of the class joined them, All Might and the police arrived, and the mall was shut down. The police questioned some of the students, particularly Izuku, but nobody was held up for long.

All Might called in Hound Dog and assured the students that Ochako would be found soon. This did help calm the students down a bit, but now that they were slightly more aware, they noticed how inconsolable Izuku was. They all saw the poster and card, so it was obvious she had gone back to buy it for him. And it was obvious he was distraught beyond reason because of it.

After a while, parents began arriving to get their kids. It was now that All Might finally approached Izuku.

" **Young Midoriya, how are you feeling?** "

"I... This is my fault," he said dryly, by now drained of his tears.

" **Your fault? And how do you think that?** " All Might asked.

"She... She went back to buy me a gift," he said, a tear leaking from his eye by recounting it. "She... This happened because of me."

" **This did not happen because of you,** " All Might sighed. " **One could easily blame Young Uraraka herself as much as you. No, this was the fault of the vile villain who did this. And we will not rest until she's safe.** "

"I... It's just... Uraraka..." he sobbed.

" **Young Midoriya...** " All Might (very uncharacteristically) frowned. " **I promise you, we will find her. And don't worry about testing your Quirk tonight, we'll do it another time.** "

"* _Sniff_ * Yeah," Izuku nodded.

Once the very distraught Inko picked up Izuku, All Might returned to the crime scene to meet with the police and Hound Dog.

" **So, Hound Dog... You pick up the scent?** " the number one hero asked.

"Yes, I can follow it," he nodded. "I think you might find this interesting though... It's the same as one of the scents I picked up from the USJ after it was invaded."

" **Then this was the League of Villains** ," All Might sighed. " **And that more than likely means... a certain someone is involved.** "

—

 **Notes: I had no idea where I was going with this chapter at first, but I knew it had to end bad. Just... not this bad. I'm slightly proud of myself for this twist, though it still does mirror canon to some degree.**

 **Anyways, I'll try to get the next chapter out quicker. I wanna see where this goes too.**

 **As always** **, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	27. A Really Bad Situation

**First off, thank you all for 3,000 followers and 2,500 favorites! I appreciate every one of you.**

 **Okay** **, so last chapter was...**

 ***Goes back and reads last chapter***

 **Oh, well shit.**

 ***Reads reviews***

 **...**

 **Alright, there was a lot of very valid criticism, some good suggestions, plenty of supportive and angry comments** **alike.** **I'll try to answer your concerns to the best of my abilities.**

 **Review time:**

 **Wirespeed91: Yeah, I deleted some "update" chapters due to some comments requesting me to do so. Didn't know that would screw up the email notifications... Oh well, too late now. As for much of your dissatisfaction with the last chapter, I tend to agree with your arguments. It really boils down to my inability to write story, unfortunately. I pride myself on my "character writing," and usually make up the story as I write. I dictate the story solely with the actions that I think characters would take in that situation, which works fine if it's in an established situation and I only have to think of the consequences in a 2-dimensional manner. But when I decide I want the story to "go somewhere" I end up throwing loose justifications out left and right. This is something I'll try to work on.**

 **As far as Izuku's birthday is concerned, I actually looked at the standard school schedule in Japan and his dob lands right before exams. I couldn't find any solid documentation of the time period in-universe, so I used this.**

 **xPhosphor: I didn't plan on Ochako finding out this early, it just sort of happened as I wrote it. It really serves no tangible purpose atm. And I'm not exactly worrying about Kota right now... I'll get there when I get there.**

 **LordXG3: I agree, the last chapter wasn't very detailed. Sorry bout that, I kinda rushed to finish since I didn't want to keep everyone waiting too much longer. But, I tried remedying that in this chapter. Hope you enjoy! (Btw, starting on the Draco Knight story soon because I haven't read it yet haha)**

 **Malchior: You're right, I didn't exactly think of things like All Might learning from Deku, or other similar things. But, I did think about Shigaraki not speaking to Izuku in the mall. That's one thing I did think about.**

 **(Guest) and demarmotoojeda: I am going to try to do something with the Two Heroes movie, yes.**

 **To everyone else, thank you for the reviews!**

 **~Shout-out Time~**

 ** _Capacitance_ by MightyMackinac** **is a story! A readable style with some good ideas mixed in, and a lot of guilty pleasure of mine mixed in—romance, OP Deku, some fun characters and dialogue—make for an enjoyable read! It also updates very often, unlike mine!**

 **~End Shout-out Time~**

 **Without further ado, here's the new chapter! I hope you enjoy!**

 _I_ _do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

—

 _A Really Bad Situation_

"How are you holding up Izuku?" Inko asked.

The two Midoriyas had parked outside the apartment building a few minutes before, and were sitting in tense silence. At least aside from Izuku's sniffling.

"I don't know, _sniff_ ," Izuku exhaled slowly.

"The pro heroes will get her back," she said with a tight smile and a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Even All Might is on the case, right? She'll be back safe and sound in no time."

"Yeah..." Izuku nodded and wiped the moisture away from his eyes. "She'll be fine."

"Oh, Izuku," Inko sighed, her own tear ducts sympathizing with her son's. But she quickly wiped away the tears and asked, "Are you hungry sweetie?"

"... No," he shook his head. "I think I'll just try to go to bed."

Inko wordlessly nodded, and the two of them exited the car and made their way to the apartment. Once they were inside, she gave him the biggest hug she could and he broke down crying again. She had never seen her son this distraught, and it broke her heart. Inko could tell he really did care for Ochako, and she had grown attached to the brunette herself. She hoped more than anything in that moment that the girl would return safe.

After Izuku recomposed himself, he made his way to bed without changing out of his clothes. He checked his phone to see multiple messages from his classmates, and he assured them all that he was fine. After that, Izuku tried to sleep but didn't get too much luck. For a while he was still getting messages on his phone, but once those stopped coming in he was left with the cold, terrifying thoughts swirling in his head and keeping him awake. Once he did finally get some sleep, it was restless.

He woke up around noon, got some food in his stomach, and went on a run. It felt really lonely to run on his own now, but he knew taking a day off from routine wasn't exactly a good idea. He did some exercises after he got home, and that did admittedly distract from his worry. But otherwise, the day mostly dragged by agonizingly.

—

*Ring ring ring*

*Ring ring ring*

" _Hello_ _Young Midoriya,_ " All Might said after picking up the phone. " _I assume you want an update on Young Uraraka?_ "

Izuku wordlessly nodded his head, but then remembered he was on the phone and said, "Y-Yes, All Might."

" _Well... We've got our work cut out for us,_ " he sighed. " _Hound Dog was tracking their scent, but it disappeared. We think they used the portal user, Kurogiri, to move somewhere else. So, we have been scouring the city and surrounding areas._ "

"But... She could be anywhere," Izuku said quietly.

" _... Unfortunately, that is where we find ourselves. But I promise, we'll find her._ "

"I know," Izuku sighed. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll talk to you another time, okay?"

" _I'll let you know if we make progress_ _,_ " All Might said. " _Bye for now, Young Midoriya._ "

"Goodbye," Izuku sighed and hung up.

The heroes had no idea where Ochako could be. She could have been _anywhere_ and they had no idea. Izuku rolled over and buried his face in his pillow, feeling more tears come on. He couldn't even pretend to have much faith in the pro heroes right then. Even All Might was just blindly searching with no real chance of finding her.

Less than an hour later though, his phone rang again. He jumped from his position at his computer and picked it up, but it was an unknown caller. He let the phone drop back to his bed and laid down with a sigh. A minute later, his phone buzzed—a voicemail was left.

"Who would leave a voicemail..?" he wondered aloud.

 _One unheard message_

 _~*click*~_

 _"H-Hah_ ," a familiar voice gasped across the phone line, then sobbed, _"No... Deku... Please...!_ "

"Uraraka!" he yelped.

" _Deku, please, don't listen to him! It's the League, they're—!_ "

" _Alright, that's enough already,_ " another raspier voice said, cutting Ochako off. " _Hey 'hero', how you doing? I've got this girl here, seems that you two are pretty close... Let me make one thing clear—you are in NO position to call anyone. I'll tell you where we are, but if I see one strand of blonde hair, or any hero for that matter, this girl dies before you even see her._ "

Izuku gulped.

" _Now,_ _there's a_ _drug store about 5 blocks West of U.A.,_ " the voice continued. " _You'll meet one of my men there. He'll take you to another stop where you'll be transferred to another of my agents, and then they'll bring you here. Again, I expect to see nobody tailing you. Be at that drug store at 5 PM or this girl gets it._ "

 _~*click*~_

"W-What..." Izuku whispered under his breath.

What was he supposed to do? The drug store was about a half hour away by the bullet train, and there was only a few hours left before 5 PM. The guy on the phone said he wasn't in any position to call anyone... Did that mean he had people watching him? If he called someone, was there a way that they would know? Even if he did call someone, the heroes couldn't do anything in this situation with the villains on the lookout and ready to kill Ochako.

' _Damnit... Why is this happening?_ '

He felt cornered. He wracked his brain for an answer, searching for a way to avoid stepping into the villains' lair. But he couldn't think of it for the life of him, maybe literally.

—

"Ah, you must be Izuku Midoriya," came a voice from an alley next to the drug store. "Hehe... It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about you, after all."

Izuku approached, and froze as the man stepped out. He grinned, stretching the purple burn scars along the bottom of his face.

"W-Who are you?" the green haired teen asked hesitantly, taking a step back.

"Aw, don't be so dramatic. I'm not gonna do anything," the man laughed, raising both of his hands up. "Well, you can call me Dabi. I'm supposed to bring you where you need to go."

"Is Uraraka okay?"

"You mean Pink Cheeks? Yeah, she's fine, I think," he shrugged. "At least she was the last time I saw her. Kurogiri's been giving her refreshments... It's actually pretty alright considering she's a hostage."

"Where's my guarantee that she'll be safe?" Izuku asked.

"Can't give you any," Dabi sighed. "Only guarantee I got is that she'll die if you don't come."

Izuku gulped, and said, "I'll come. But what does your leader want me?"

"The leader doesn't want you, perse... It's the second-in-command I think. Well, I really don't know how deep this 'League' goes, but I do know that Shigaraki answers to someone else," the villain said, scratching his burnt chin. "Anyways, he's a little obsessed with you. Something about you getting in his way during the USJ attack, going 'faster than All Might.' Heh, I'd like to see that. I guess the Stain incident's also got him peeved."

"So I'm going in blind?" Izuku asked.

"You say that like I'm supposed to be on your side!" Dabi laughed coldly. "Yeah, no intel for you buddy. Now get over here, I have to frisk you."

"F-Frisk?"

"Yup. Weapons, tools, and electronic devices are off-limits for you."

"I guess I don't have a choice?" Izuku asked.

"Of course you have a choice, are you stupid?" he said mockingly. "Although your girlfriend's life depends on the choice, so you might want to choose wisely."

Izuku approached and raised his arms, allowing the man to pat him down. All he found was Izuku's phone, which he took out, tossed on the ground, and smashed.

"H-Hey!" Izuku objected.

"Nah nah nah, you can't argue," Dabi warned. "Phones can be tracked, and that's veeeeery very dangerous for both us, and _you_. Besides, you won't need one where you're going."

Izuku glared at him for a moment before returning his eyes to the ground in front of him.

"Ok, now the handcuffs," Dabi said, pulling out a pair of shackles.

"Handcuffs?" Izuku asked. "You know my Quirk is Telekinesis, right?"

"Don't ask me, it's just what he told me to do."

After cuffing Izuku, Dabi led him to a black sedan and shoved him in before driving him towards the next destination.

"... So, U.A., huh?" the villain said after some silence. "You're damn lucky, it was always my dream to go there."

Izuku didn't respond for a while, then asked, "Why didn't you go?"

"Why? Well, plenty of reasons," he chuckled. "Why didn't I go to U.A.? Why am a villain? Why am I talking to you right now? You know, those are all stupid questions. It can all be boiled down to one thing: Circumstances. My circumstances in life sculpted me to be who I am today, and yours did to you. I didn't think I'd end up here 15 years ago, but here I am. Life is unfair, things happen that you never see coming. People aren't always as good as they seem. Sometimes, reality can crash down on you and change your entire perspective very suddenly. Just like _that_."

Dabi snapped his fingers, and suddenly a mass of purple mist exploded open in front of the moving car. Izuku closed his eyes on reflex, but when nothing happened he opened them again and realized they were somewhere completely different.

"That was great timing, Kurogiri," Dabi grinned.

"I'm surprised I did it on the first try," came a voice from the back seat, startling Izuku.

"... I meant it had good timing with my monologue..." Dabi frowned. "You mean there was a chance you weren't gonna time the portal right?"

Izuku looked back as he clutched his chest, and saw the purple portal user from the USJ incident.

"Well, I had to open it quick enough and far enough ahead that you could go through at this speed, and I had to close it quick enough so no other cars came through behind you," Kurigiri explained. "It's not all too difficult, but it's not as simple as it looks."

"You're not exactly inspiring confidence man," Dabi sighed.

"My apologies," he said from the backseat. "Izuku Midoriya, I believe this is the first time we've spoken, although we have met before."

"Y-Yeah," Izuku exhaled, still reeling from the shock of the man appearing behind him.

"And here we are," Dabi said as he pulled up to a curb outside of a bar. "Hey kid, how old are you?"

"U-Um I'm fifteen," Izuku said, but then he remembered his birthday had actually passed a few days prior. And Ochako had bought him the gift that made him remember that fact. Sadly, he sighed, "No, wait... sixteen."

"Damnit, Kurogiri, we need a change of plan," Dabi said disappointedly, looking back at his accomplice.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"He's too young to legally go in there."

"... Dabi, we shouldn't keep Tomura waiting."

"Fine," the scarred man sighed before stepping out of the car.

It was an unassuming brick building, with a neon light out front advertising the sale of drinks. The street was so empty, though, that Izuku doubted they got any business.

Dabi knocked on the rusted metal door, and after a few seconds the peephole slid open. Behind it was a pair of golden eyes.

"Password?" a girl's voice requested.

"We brought Midoriya, let us in," Dabi sighed.

"Ooh!" the girl cheered before opening the door.

She was a blonde girl in a school uniform that seemed close to Izuku's age. When she saw him, her eyes dilated slightly and she grinned from ear to ear. The girl leapt at Izuku, tackling him to the hard ground.

"Hi Deku, I'm Himiko Toga!" she said excitedly, baring her fanged smile at him. "You're even cuter in person! Hehehe..! But, you know, you'd be cuter covered in blood! Mind if I cut you up a bit?"

Izuku yelped as the girl brandished a knife.

"Toga, stop," Dabi sighed. "Get off him so I can help him up."

"Hmph, no fun," the girl pouted as she stood up.

Dabi grabbed Izuku and yanked him up to his feet, then shoved him towards the door saying, "Ladies first."

"... You're a comedic genius Dabi," Kurigiri remarked sarcastically.

Meanwhile Himiko grabbed Izuku by the arm as she led him in, asking, "Hey Deku, are you a screamer? I like it when people try holding back, but can't help letting out some noises~."

"U-Um, I don't—"

"Izuku Midoriya," the same raspy voice from the phone grabbed the teen's attention. It was the man with the blue-gray hair and hands covering his body, from the USJ invasion—Tomura Shigaraki. "I'm so glad you've decided to join us, little hero."

Izuku gulped and looked around the room. There were several people—someone in a black straight-jacket whose face was covered except for his mouth, a tall muscular blond man with a mechanical eye, a man in two-toned gray tights, and a wide stocky villain with shoulder-length red hair, thick lips and chin stubble.

"Welcome to our... humble abode," Tomura said, gesturing around the room.

"Where's Uraraka?" Izuku asked.

"Straight to business, I like that," he chuckled. "Your girl is alive."

"I want to see her," the hero in training said.

"Awe, you're cute when you're worried," Himiko said with a blush. "Hey, I know you and 'Chako have a 'thing', but are you open to a third person? I already asked her but she didn't react well, so I wanted to run it by you."

"W-What?!" despite his throat being unbearably dry, he almost choked on his own saliva and started coughing.

"I feel so sorry for you Midoriya," the man in the gray tights sighed, shaking his head. " _I'M TOTALLY JEALOUS, AAAGH!_ "

"I know you want this to go your way, but you should understand the position you're in," Tomura said. "You do what I say and cooperate, she'll live. Otherwise, she dies. I never said I'd give you any other leeway here."

Izuku recovered from his coughing fit, and looked up at the villain. "So why do you want me?"

"I'll be having a chat with you, in private," he said.

"Aww, but I wanna come too," Himiko pouted.

"Absolutely not," Tomura said. "I'm still not on board with the idea of having you all here anyways. So you'd better be thankful I'm letting you stay for now."

"Hmph," the blonde crossed her arms and turned around.

Izuku followed the hand man through the metal door behind the counter, where the villain gestured to a chair in the middle of the room. Izuku sat, then Tomura pulled up another chair and sat across from him.

"So, little hero, do you have any idea why you're here?"

"To get my friend back," Izuku answered.

"That's nice, but not what I meant," Tomura chuckled. "Why have I gone through the trouble of bringing you here?"

Izuku gulped, and answered, "I-Is it because of Stain?"

Tomura sat there for a moment, staring at him intensely, before suddenly bursting into an uproarious laughter. Izuku shifted uncomfortably while the villain laughed hysterically. Soon though, he got a grip on himself.

"Stain?! I couldn't care less about Stain!" he wheezed. Then his mood sharply turned to anger. "Do you know how much of a pain in the ass you've been?! Not U.A., not your classmates, but _you._ First you got in my way at the USJ. Your speed caught my attention, so I decided to keep an eye on you. But, you know, I didn't expect you to become the most easily recognizable aspiring hero in Japan. Not only that, but yeah, you did take on Stain way better than I expected you to."

"So... Where is this going?" Izuku asked. "What about Uraraka?"

"The only reason my master isn't ruling over this world right now is because of All Might," Tomura said. "That never-faltering heroic attitude, that overwhelming power... If All Might wasn't around, we'd all be living in a much different world.

The villain stood up and continued, "I could threaten you, or try to break your spirit, but it's always possible there are things I didn't account for. Like All Might, maybe you have a particularly infallible spirit. Or maybe you care about your classmate a lot less than I think, and seeing us tear her apart one piece at a time won't be able to break you down."

Izuku paled as he processed what Tomura was saying.

"Unfortunately, she has no use to us more reliable than simply luring you here. No, I'm not taking any chances, and I won't make the same mistakes as my master. I'm going to eliminate my competition early."

Tomura reached out for Izuku's face, but the terrified teen leapt back, falling to the ground along with his chair. He was barely able to scramble to his feet in time to get away from a second swipe, but then he found himself in a corner. Izuku was about to use his telekinesis to hit the villain with the chair, but he remembered All Might's warning—

" _Until_ _then, do NOT use your Quirk under ANY circumstances! We don't know how One For All may affect it, so wait until Recovery Girl is with us to avoid potential injury or worse!_ "

He ducked under a swing from Tomura and countered with a kick to the stomach, but Tomura took the blow better than Izuku expected and grabbed his leg with his hand. It didn't take long for Izuku to feel the burning, unbearable sensation of his leg disintegrating. With a pained and panicked scream, he blasted Tomura with his Quirk.

Izuku couldn't tell exactly what happened because his vision was blurry from built-up tears, but he could tell Tomura had let go of his leg. It burned and felt really raw, but he was now preoccupied with new painful sensations. His head was wracked with a pounding migraine like he'd never felt before, and the pain he usually felt in his side from overusing his Quirk was... present, but different. It felt like it _popped_ rather than just getting sore.

He shakily wiped his eyes, and looked up to see that the entire room was not only ruined, but destroyed. It looked like a hole was carved out of the side of the building.

' _What happened?_ ' Izuku wondered. _'My Quirk... One For All changed it, but how...?'_

Izuku was lying flat on his back, trying to regain his bearings. He tried to push himself up, but he just couldn't manage any more than a couple inches. His body was giving out, and the pain he was in was threatening to push him into a state of unconsciousness.

"N-No... Gotta... save U-Urara... ka..." he gasped, clutching at the floor in the hopes that he might be able to gather a little more strength.

—

Tomura blinked his eyes slowly, processing everything that had happened. He looked up at what _was_ his base of operations, now just a ruined building half-turned into piles of shattered concrete and brick.

"What the fuck?" he finally gasped out.

The last time Tomura saw the little hero use his Quirk, which was against Stain, he had trouble immobilizing other people for even a few seconds. What had just occurred, was that Izuku had flung Tomura through _3_ _walls_ and across a street.

"Damnit, did I break something? Shit," Tomura muttered as he stood up.

He couldn't move his right arm and it hurt like hell. He guessed it broke against one of the walls. He started shuffling back towards the bar, and heard the calling of Kurogiri.

"Tomura Shigaraki! Shigaraki?!"

"Kurogiri!" he called back, and didn't have to wait more than a few seconds before the portal user warped to him. "I'm gonna kill him."

"Tomura Shigaraki, what happened?" Kurogiri asked.

"That asshole got a power up!" Tomura hissed, scratching his neck with his good hand. "I'll kill him!"

"What happened to your arm?"

"IT'S BROKEN!" the enraged villain shouted. "Get me back over there NOW!"

"V-Very well," Kurogiri said with a bow, before expanding to let Tomura walk through.

Tomura walked back to the ruined room, and looked to see Himiko standing over the unmoving body of Izuku.

"What happened?" Dabi asked from the side.

"I don't know how, but Midoriya did this." Tomura said.

"Hey Shigaraki," Toga called. "You mind if I cut him up a bit? He just looks so cute when he's asleep, I can hardly help myself!"

"No... I'll kill that bastard," he snarled.

 ** _*BBBOOOOOOMMM*_**

A massive cloud of dust exploded in the middle of the group of villains, firing up splinters of wood from the floor.

"Agh! What the fuck was that?!" Dabi exclaimed. "An attack?"

"What kind of..?" Tomura began to ask, but stopped himself as an enormous shadow rose up in the dust plume.

" **YOU THINK YOU CAN KIDNAP _MY STUDENTS_ AND GET AWAY WITH IT, VILLAIN?!**" the overbearing voice of the number one hero thundered.

"What? How did he find us?" Tomura muttered in a pained whisper. "No no no no noo..."

" **Now, will you cooperate?** " All Might asked as the dust parted, revealing his very _very_ angry face staring at Tomura.

—

All Might was in the middle of a chat with Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi about Ochako Uraraka's kidnapping, when his phone rang. He glanced down at his screen.

"Unknown caller, probably a telemarketer," he sighed. Still, he answered, "Hello, this is Toshinori Yagi."

" _All Might! I was just contacted by the League of Villains!_ "

"Pffftt! Young Midoriya?!" the hero yelled, spitting out blood. "What? When?! What did they say?!"

" _They want me to meet them,_ " Izuku said.

"Absolutely not!" All Might told him.

" _But if I don't, they'll kill Uraraka!_ "

"When was the time they gave you?"

" _5pm. If I don't meet them, they'll kill her._ "

"... Damnit... We have no chance of locating them by then," All Might sighed.

"What's going on?!" Naomasa asked.

" _All Might, just hear me out,_ " Izuku said. " _I have an idea_."

—

"Sorry I called you on my home phone," Izuku said, laughing awkwardly. "I don't know if they can see the calls I make on my cell phone..."

"I doubt it, but better safe than sorry," All Might reassured. "But, umm, why are we meeting... here?"

Izuku sighed, "The villains are probably watching me. I can't just meet suspicious people in the open."

"But... why the restroom of a mochi shop?" Naomasa quirked an eyebrow.

"I-It's just what I thought of," he shrugged.

"For the record, I hate this idea," All Might said. "But if they're telling the truth, then we really have no choice... Any trickery about you meeting them, or with us following you, might result in drastic action on their part."

"Right," the detective agreed. "This sort of thing isn't normal or, in any way, to be repeated. Real situations should be left to real professional heroes."

"And believe me, I will handle it," All Might assured. "But, Young Midoriya, you have to do the first part."

"I won't let you down All Might," Izuku nodded confidently.

"And remember what I said about using your Quirk," he reminded. "We still don't know how One For All affected it."

"I won't use it," Izuku confirmed. "Unless I really, _really_ need to. _Wait, should you say that with him here?!_ "

"Naomasa is a close friend," All Might assured Izuku. "He knows my secret."

"And I must say, you've definitely got the heroic attitude of a worthy successor, judging by this plan," the detective grinned. "Although you shouldn't be _too_ heroic here, for now. Like All Might said, you should avoid fighting until you can take your new Quirk for a test drive."

"I'll try to get there before that happens," All Might said.

"Now, here it is," Naomasa said, holding up a small black speck in a plastic bag. "The most untraceable tracking device ever made. Nobody should be able to know it's there except our receiver."

"So I just... swallow it?" Izuku asked.

"Yup, it's that simple!" All Might grinned.

—

"He's been in the building for five minutes," Naomasa said. "I don't think they're planning to move him again."

"Alright, I'll be going now," Toshinori smiled at Naomasa.

"Good luck," the detective smiled back and gave the hero a thumbs up.

" **Here I come League of Villains!** " All Might yelled as he puffed up into his muscle form.

All Might leapt with great speed toward the villains' hideout, and landed on a rooftop a couple of blocks away. Instantly, he saw the cloud of dust rising from the building where he was headed. He cursed and ran across the rooftops until he was overlooking the screen from across the street. He saw, through the opening in the side of the building, Tomura Shigaraki, Kurogiri, and a man with scars all over his body. They seemed to be looking at the same spot, but All Might couldn't see what was there due to the partially intact wall of the building.

 _'What happened here? No matter, I'll go down and see for myself!_ _'_

All Might flexed his legs and planted his feet then blasted down into the building in front of the three villains he saw, landing with an impressive _boom_.

"Argh, what the fuck?! Are we under attack?!"

"What kind of—?!"

All Might slowly stood up and, as intimidatingly as he could, shouted, " **YOU THINK YOU CAN KIDNAP _MY STUDENTS_ AND GET AWAY WITH IT, VILLAIN?!**"

"What? How did he find us?" Tomura muttered, barely audible despite being so close to All Might. "No no no no noo..."

" **Now, will you cooperate?** " All Might asked, staring down the villain.

"Hey hey!" a young girl's voice caught All Might's attention, and he turned to see a blond teenager in a school uniform holding a knife to an unconscious Izuku's throat. "Don't make any funny moves All Mighty! Unless you want my little Deku to become a red fountain, ehe~!"

" **Y-You!** " All Might gasped.

"Good!" Tomura shouted. "Kurogiri, the girl!"

The hero turned and saw a purple portal appear next to the villain, and Ochako fell down out of it. Her hands and legs were tied, so she couldn't brace herself and hit the floor with an uncomfortable _thud_.

" **Young Uraraka!** " All Might shouted.

"A-All Might!" Ochako sobbed.

"Tsk-tsk-tsk," Tomura scolded, putting his hand around her throat. "All I have to do is apply pressure with my middle finger, and she's _dead._ "

All Might winced at the sight of the young student. Her face was cut in several places, she had a few bruises visible on her face and arms, and some blood was stained on her clothes. Aside from the physical damage, she looked distraught and terrified.

" **You heartless villains...** " All Might growled through gritted teeth.

He saw several others, who he assumed were villains, stepping forward from another room.

"Who knows, you might be able to get to one of us before we can react, and save one of these little heroes," Tomura said with an obvious grin. "But even if you save Midoriya's life, this girl loses hers."

"And if you try to save Ochako, I'll kill Deku!" the girl grinned.

"It's game over, All Might."

—

 **Author's notes: It took a lot of tweaking to get this chapter all organized. But now that it's done, I'm happy with it. Although I'm not sure if I should've ended it here or written a bit more... I think it's the best spot considering what I have planned next, so I won't worry about it too much.**

 **Next chapter we'll go right into the fun part!**

 **As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	28. So, A Hero Walks Into A Bar

**H A P P Y N E W Y E A R**

 **First off, I recommend re-reading the last chapter or at least the final part of it because so much time has passed, and this chapter jumps RIGHT into it.**

 **And second off, I'm really sorry for not giving you guys any update! I've been working on this on and off for the past few months, and it's taken so long for a few reasons. I have a job now, along with college, and so my free time has plummeted. The only reason I'm able to get it out now is that I'm in between semesters and got some extra time to work on it.**

 **I'** **ve gotten some very valid criticism from so many of you and it's made me realize: making up a story as I go along is stupid. So I'm planning to do one of two things:**

 **1) Take** **time to draft out the next arc before I start actually writing these chapters** **(This should make the chapter writing process quicker as well)**

 **2) or** **just completely revamp the story and start again. Fixing mistakes, inconsistencies, and making different decisions, leading the story someplace new.**

 **I'll probably go with option 1 because I've gotten so far already, but I'd like to know what you all think.**

 ** _REVIEW TIME FELLAS_**

 **MightyMackinac: I definitely thought you deserved the shout-out. In fact I'd rate your story above mine. We all love a little OP Deku right?**

 **ss3dj: I'm happy to know I inspired you to start your own MHA fic!**

 **DragonStorm88: I'm blushing over here**

 **LordXG3: I seem to have topped your cliffhanger in terms of time lol, sorry bout that.**

 **Berserker Singh: Not gonna lie, you right**

 **Souen11: The rest of the story was just me saying "What would be different if Deku had this Quirk?" This is really my first attempt to branch out at all, so that's probably why the writing isn't as good.**

 **Ander Arias: Will it make him overpowered? I mean sure, in the same way One For All makes canon Deku overpowered. Considering how crazy enemies are getting in the manga, I'm sure he won't be as overpowered in comparison.**

 **KahunaLagoona: I love seeing comments from you because you always have such unique insight, and you give me some ideas lol**

 **Psycho Ray: I'll do my best! Thanks for the compliments as well.**

 **Cieszesi Niezmiernie: I KNOW, THE LEAGUE IS SO FUGGIN COOL. Shigaraki is my baby**

 **Im The Person: Thanks for sharing! Unfortunately when it comes to One For All, nobody knows exactly how it affects Quirks yet. So everyone writes it in different ways, and this is how I'm deciding to do it.**

 **Wheatley9001: It's been 3 months and 22 days... _I'M_ _SORRY_!**

 **~Recommendation Zone~**

 **Green Tea Rescue by _ss3dj_ is kinda like... this story in a way, but the set-up is more interesting and the plot takes more original paths. It's only up to the beginning of the first semester at U.A. right now, so this is a great time to get started on reading it!**

 **~Recommendation Zone~**

 _I do not own Boku No Hero Academia or any of the characters portrayed in this story._

* * *

 _So, A Hero Walks Into A Bar_

* * *

All Might acted quickly and punched towards Tomura and Himiko at the same time, the air pressure impacting them and knocking them away from the hostages. He leapt to Ochako and grabbed her, then jumped to Izuku before dashing away and setting them down against a building across the street.

" **You foolish villains underestimated me!** " All Might announced.

"Ooohhhh, that hurt," Tomura groaned as he got up. "You're really as good as they say, All Might. But, I wouldn't say I 'underestimated' you."

" **Well, we'll see about that!** "

All Might's eyes widened as a purple portal opened beneath himself and his two students. He grabbed them and kicked down, the air pressure pushing them up and away from the portal, but another one opened above them. All Might, again, kicked to the side of the portal.

"Perfect... Now he has to play defense _and_ babysitter," Tomura chuckled. "Kurogiri, keep him on the move."

"Understood," the portal villain nodded.

All Might went back and forth between opening portals for a few seconds, before quickly switching directions twice and flying straight at Kurogiri.

"Do you think I wouldn't expect that?" he chuckled, opening a warp gate between them.

" **Do you think _I_ wouldn't expect _that_** **?!** " All Might retorted as he kicked down into the ground.

It launched him up and away from the warp gate, and simultaneously shattered the ground underneath them. The cracks led right around Kurogiri, and the floor beneath him heaved upwards. He was about to be sent through his own portal, and he dispelled it only for a blast of wind pressure from All Might to fire him down into the ground. He was luckily quick and aware enough to open a warp gate below himself, and he came up out of the ground close by.

"The number one hero... hehehe," the large blonde villain chuckled as he replaced his blue mechanical eye with another red one. "This is getting my blood pumping! BARTENDER!!"

Kurogiri, getting Muscular's signal even as he was in freefall, opened a portal below him that led right to—

"ALL MIIIIGHT!" he screamed as red muscle sinews grew and covered his body.

Before the hero could react, the villain's fist connected across his jaw. It wasn't enough to do any damage, but it was rare that All Might would receive such a strong hit so unexpectedly. It disoriented him and he almost lost his grip on Izuku and Ochako, but he quickly regained his hold and retaliated to the villain with a much stronger

" ** _SMASH_**!"

Muscular was sent flying, but so was All Might. Much more so than he expected. The Number 1 Hero quickly realized that Ochako had gripped him and made him weightless. He was going to use the momentum to escape and get the students to safety, but another portal opened up in front of him and he had to back away again.

"You won't get away!" Shigaraki exclaimed, jumping at All Might through a new portal behind him.

All Might hardly noticed the villain before he was able to get a hand on his shoulder.

" **AAGH!** " All Might shouted in surprise and pain, as he whipped around and punched at Shigaraki. But, a portal opened between them and All Might's punch never connected. " **S-Shit..!** "

The portal rapidly began closing on All Might's arm, but he kicked and flew away.

Shigaraki landed back on the ground courtesy of Kurogiri. "I got him on the shoulder," he grinned as he stood up, and rubbed his broken arm. "Good job Kirogiri."

"I must say, that was an unexpectedly horrifying experience for me," Kurogiri sighed.

* * *

" **Damnit, I can't get away,** " All Might frowned. " **Not until the warp villain is incapacitated!** "

" _Then you should have waited to move in until we were closer,_ " Best Jeanist sighed over the earpiece. " _We're not exactly as fast as you, you know, and you called us last-minute_!"

" **My bad, but things were escalating too quickly!** " All Might said as he dodged more portals.

* * *

"Excuse me, but your name is Twice, correct?" Kurogiri asked the black-and-grey clad villain.

" _Nope_! Pleased to meet ya!" Twice said with a salute.

"How do you activate your Quirk?"

"Well, I need to know the exact dimensions of whatever I'm copying, and exactly what it looks like." he explained. " _ALSO YOUR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION!_ "

"Make a copy of Shigaraki, if you would," Kurogiri requested.

"Eh?" the hand-covered villain tilted his head at them. "We don't need that, I can handle this without his Quirk."

"Shigaraki!" Mr. Compress said, running up to them, "multiple vehicles are on their way here."

"Damnit... More? Fine." Tomura Shigaraki turned and looked at the group of (mostly) Stain-inspired villains who wanted to join him. "This is your chance to prove yourselves! If you're serious about joining this League, then you'd better be able to tangle with heroes!"

"Really? Facing pro heroes head-on?" Magne asked. "Isn't that a bit much for first day on the job?"

"I can handle my own, thank you very much!" Himiko pouted.

"Me too," Twice assured. " _Just kidding, get me the hell out of here."_

"Oi oi oi, what the hell," Dabi laughed. "Are we all on the same side here?"

"Of course blockhead!" Twice exclaimed. " _Unless we... aren't?!"_

"Twice, hurry up and get to work," Tomura commanded, glaring daggers at him. "I believe I was clear, right?"

* * *

"Woah, All Might wasn't lying when he said things had escalated," Kamui Woods remarked as they pulled up outside of the half destroyed building.

"H-Hello?" a voice called, before a body stumbled out of the doorway. "H-Heroes?!"

"That girl!" Mt. Lady exclaimed. "It's the one who was kidnapped, Ochako Uraraka!"

Edgeshot zipped right over to her and steadied her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm... just a little banged up," she said. "But Deku, he's hurt! And All Might was somehow hurt too, but he's still fighting!"

"Deku, huh?" Edgeshot said in a tense voice. "That kid sure gets himself into a lot of trouble."

"I-I'm the one who got him into this," Ochako shook her head, looking down.

"Nonsense," Edgeshot shook his head. "He came after you because of his heroic spirit, that's all."

"You're bleeding... Where's the cut?" Best Jeanist asked. "I can sew you up."

"I think there's a cut here," she said, reaching her hands down to her hips.

"I don't see too much blood coming from there..." Jeanist said, leaning down to get a closer look.

"Oh, no," Ochako shook her head. Then, with a sadistic grin she exclaimed, "I meant _here!"_

With one hand she quickly slashed Best Jeanist's face with a switchblade, and with the other hand she had swung another small knife at Edgeshot, who was able to jump away in time.

Best Jeanist fell back, and clutched at his eyes which were covered in blood.

"This girl's a villain?!" Edgeshot gasped, then flattened his arm and moved to knock her out.

But she chuckled playfully and, as the clothes and face of Ochako fell away to reveal a nude blonde girl, evaded his attack and seemed to disappear.

"W-Where'd she go?!" Mt. Lady exclaimed.

"Doesn't matter," Kamui Woods said, narrowing his eyes. "She's here to distract us. What we _should_ focus on is finding the kids!"

"She's not only here to distract us," Edgeshot grimaced. "She's dangerous. The way she moved and seemed to disappear was incredible..! She can make use of deadly surprise attacks."

"Edge, you tend to Jeanist and protect him from that girl," Endeavor commanded. "Kamui, Mt. Lady, you two come with me."

Endeavor blasted off over the top of the building with his flames, and Kamui followed by riding a growth of wood. Mt. Lady, as well, grew to see over the roof.

"All Might...!" Endeavor exclaimed, seeing the Number 1 dodging and weaving through portals.

The Number 2 looked down and saw the villains, including the one he knew was the warp villain. He blasted straight down and fired a ball of flame at the league's bartender, who stopped making portals around All Might in his panic and pain.

"Endeavor?!" Tomura exclaimed, looking up.

Magne got up and grabbed the giant wrapped rectangular object from her back. "Endeavor, the one who brutalized Stain, and who Stain hated the most!" She unwrapped and unveiled a giant magnet, and used it to pull Endeavor down, straight into the ground head-first. "DIE!"

"Don't underestimate me!" Endeavor growled, starting to send flames across the ground.

Magne reversed his magnet and sent the hero flying back, impacting the opposite wall. Moonfish took this opportunity to jump into action, quickly extending his teeth and driving them straight at the vulnerable Number 2 hero. But before they reached Endeavor, branches crashed into Moonfish and pushed him up and out of range from the hero. The branches gripped around him to suspend him in midair.

"Woah, watch it there buddy," Kamui Woods said as he landed next to Endeavor.

"Twice," Kurogiri gasped after warping away the last of the flames, "ready?!"

Twice let the measuring tape he was using to measure Tomura flip back to its cartridge, and gave him the OK sign.

"Then let's get this party started," Shigaraki sneered.

* * *

" **Young Uraraka,** " All Might said, prompting Ochako to open her eyes and look up at him. " **If you could remove your Quirk...** "

"O-Oh! Y-Yeah," she nodded and released her Quirk.

All Might landed with a grunt and set the two students down. First Ochako looked at Deku, who was still unconscious. She crawled over to him and shook his shoulder, but stopped when he let out a pained groan.

"H-He seems hurt... His leg is bleeding..." she frowned.

" **I apologize for leaving you two alone, but I must return to the battle** ," All Might said, standing tall and facing the direction of the League's hideout. " **You should be safe here.** **The detectives are already on their way here to pick you up and tend to your wounds.** "

"How's your shoulder?" Ochako asked, seeing the blood and All Might rubbing it.

" **I've been through worse,** " he smiled at her. " **Can I count on you to protect Young Midoriya until the authorities arrive?** "

"You can count on me," she nodded.

" **Thank you, Young Uraraka.** "

With that, All Might leapt away. And Ochako looked back down to Deku, whose face was contorted into a grimace. She used her Quirk to readjust him without lifting him in potentially painful ways, and settled him against the wall. She wasn't sure how he got into the League's base, but she knew he was trying to save her. And she didn't know how he got hurt, but she knew it was because of her.

"You brave, stupid Deku," she sighed, resting against the wall next to him.

Even though she was upset at his recklessness, she couldn't help but grin a bit. After all, she knew what he would go through to keep her safe. Even in that situation, when she didn't want him to fall into their trap, the thought that he was coming for her helped her stay strong. After all, he did make a great hero.

* * *

"The kid would have been a nice catch, but as it stands now," Tomura said, waving his hand at the heroes, "you're much more immediate threats to our organization."

"You don't say?" Endeavor scoffed. "I'm surprised you haven't already tried to run away. With us here and All Might sure to return soon, you'll be in for it."

"In for it? I'm not sure," the villain shrugged. "But I _am_ up to it."

"... That just wasn't clever at all," Mount Lady deadpanned.

"Shigaraki is mine," Endeavor said. "He can disintegrate either your wood, or your flesh. Only my flames have the range to deal with him. Kamui you're on the Warp user, and Lady you take the Magnet user. We don't know the others' abilities as of yet, so we'll play it by ear."

"Understood," the two younger heroes nodded.

Suddenly, with a massive boom, All Might landed on the other side of the League of Villains.

" **I see you weren't going to start the party without me,** " All Might said with a wide grin. " **Well, villain, how has this situation turned out for you? No Young Midoriya, no Young Uraraka, nothing but a broken arm and the finest heroes of Japan surrounding you as a reward for your ambitions!** "

"Hmm, I wonder if that's true," Shigaraki mused aloud. "I wonder if that's all the reward I get tonight."

A shiver ran down All Might's spine as he felt fingers clamp down on his ribs, right on his old wound from All For One. And the feeling of Decay followed, along with a shout of agony from the number one.

"I am here, _Symbol of Peace_ ," Tomura chuckled from behind him.

"All Might!" Endeavor shouted, immediately blasting towards the League.

However a blue wall of fire appeared in his way, and he stopped short. He turned to see the dark haired villain, covered in burn scars, approaching him with a raised hand.

"You're going to stand back, Endeavor," Dabi grinned as his patches of stapled, burnt skin stretched along with his face. "Number Two Hero, Enji Todoroki."

Mount Lady grew and kicked at the League's resident fireman, but she was suddenly held back by an intense force. She looked down to see Magne, the Magnet wielder, using her Quirk on her.

And Kamui Woods, on the other hand, had no option to even attempt intervening. After all, fire burns wood and and wood was his entire ability. He was going to go around and attack the League's other members from the side, but a searing glance from Dabi ended that hope.

So instead, the Wood hero decided to run outside and ask for backup.

* * *

"Smash!" All Might yelled as he backhand-punched Tomura in a spin.

But Tomura gave way to grey matter, and fell apart in front of him. All Might gripped his injury and fell to one knee, then glared defiantly up at the Tomura standing with the rest of the League, now with a blue wall of flame behind them.

"Too bad I'm up here," Shigaraki sighed. "I would've loved to take your punch, but I'd rather stay awake for the rest of this."

"Hey, what's going on?" Toga asked, hopping into the group.

"Hey, welcome cutie!" Twice waved. " _WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! Get out there and hold off the heroes!_ "

"Hmph, I don't like the ninja guy," she pouted and crossed her arms. "He can see me when I'm trying to hide and his stare is kinda creepy."

All Might stood up and gripped his fists, and glared daggers at the League of Villains. He had a very convincing, very intimidating stance and expression, but the truth was that the only reason he was able to do that was because his adrenaline had numbed the pain of his reopened wound. He was running on fumes in the worst way.

" **Tsukauchi,** " he said quietly into his earpiece. " **Get ready to evacuate me.** "

Suddenly, All Might felt himself go into freefall as a portal opened underneath him. Just as he was about to jump away, strong arms reached up and grabbed him by the ankles before pulling him down through the warp gate.

" **Shit—!** " All Might cursed as he was brought face to fist with Muscular. And he was the face.

"You won't be rid of me that easily!" Muscular grinned and reeled back for another swing.

" **Then I guess I'll have to try harder!**

" ** _DETROIT SMMAAAAAAAASSSSHHHH_!**" All Might yelled, as he punched Muscular straight in the head.

Muscular was launched at group of villains standing above him, but Mr. Compress simply condensed Muscular into a marble and caught him.

All Might collapsed and heaved a heavy sigh, and glanced up at the villains once again.

"Game over," Tomura said. Then suddenly he became ecstatic and exclaimed, "IT'S GAME OVER ALL MIGHT!"

However Dabi's blue firewall parted, as a blast from Endeavor sent the flame user through his own flames. Edgeshot had run in to provide backup, and was able to provide Endeavor an opening. The number 2 hero followed up by shooting his flames right at the League members who were now exposed.

"Shit!" Magne exclaimed, turning her focus to Endeavor.

In her panic she let Mount Lady free, and the humongous heroine took the opportunity to land a gargantuan kick on the villain, knocking her out.

Dabi sent a fire blast back at Endeavor's to counter it, but the hero's fire was quickly overtaking his. His effort wasn't in vain however, as it gave Kurogiri enough time to warp the group out of there.

"W-What?" Tomura asked, realizing that they were back at their warehouse. "Kurogiri, what are we doing here?!"

"Muscular requires immediate medical attention," Kurogiri explained as he took Mr. Compress and guided him to the doctor's quarters. "Even he can't tank a blow like that from All Might."

"I don't care! We could have changed position, spread out, surrounded the heroes!" Tomura complained.

"My Quirk has been abused enough tonight," Kurogiri stated. "I'm beyond exhausted after that trick with All Might... I've never gone that far before."

"Besides could we have really taken them all on anyways?" Twice asked. "I mean, except for Endeavor and Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods and _All Might_ , those guys were _wimps_!"

"Shut it," Tomura snapped at him, scraping at his own neck.

"Hey warp guy," Toga complained, "we left Magne and the straight-jacket guy."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't get them as well. My Quirk is completely spent as it is..."

"Damn it..!" Tomura exclaimed, vigorously scratching his neck with both hands.

 **"Calm yourself, young one."**

Heavy, reassuring hands rested on his shoulders.

 **"Tonight was not a loss by any means."**

* * *

All Might shrunk down to his emaciated true self as he gagged and coughed up blood. He fell on all fours, then clutched his side in pain and fell down onto the ground.

"All Might!" Endeavor exclaimed, running up to his side. "What... the hell is this.!?"

"N-Nothing **... I'm fine, really—** " All Might said, momentarily puffing back up before deflating and hacking up more blood.

"All Might!" Naomasa Tsukauchi exclaimed as he ran into the battleground and knelt down. "How bad is it?"

"Hospital... Now..." Toshinori gasped.

* * *

Izuku Midoriya felt the edges of consciousness pulling him from under the fuzzy blanket of sleep. Reluctantly, as he did every morning, he opened his eyes to let them adjust to the light. But it was much brighter than normal. In fact, the whole room was white. Confused, he began to sit up to look around, but he grimaced as he became very aware of a pointed migraine and decided to lay back down.

"IZUKU!!!" the familiar voice of his mother exclaimed as Izuku felt her weight land on him in a strong hug.

The impact made Izuku aware of another pain in his abdomen, and he groaned out.

"Oh my goodness my baby I'm so sorry!" she gasped as she got off of him. "It's just... I'm so glad you're awake!"

"W-What's going on?" Izuku asked groggily. His speech was slurred a bit and his mouth was dry and scratchy.

"Hold on honey, let's sit you up first," Inko said, grabbing a controller and making the hospital bed fold up.

"H-Huh? Hospital?!" Izuku exclaimed then coughed because of his dry mouth, exacerbating his migraine. "Owwww..."

"Here, drink something," a nurse said, offering a water cup. "Try not to move too much."

Izuku drank the cup of water, and sighed in relief at the sensation. He looked up at his mom and swallowed, before asking, "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" she asked, looking more concerned. "The League of Villains took Ochako, and you—"

"Uraraka! Is she alright?!" Izuku shouted. "I-I tried to save her but I couldn't... I didn't even find her."

"She's fine!" Inko raised her voice, gripping his shoulders tightly. "I'm more concerned about _you_. You took off on such a dangerous adventure and didn't tell me! I was worried sick all night, and then I saw the news about a fight between All Might and the League of Villains _and then I got a call from the detectives and_ —" she began rambling as tears came down.

"M-Mom! I'm okay, really," Izuku said, holding her by an arm to steady her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I knew you would've stopped me."

"Of course I would have!" she exclaimed, now looking less upset and more angry. "That was very, _very_ stupid of you! I know you're capable, and I know that you have such a selfless heart, but I also know you're smarter than this!"

"I know it was stupid, but... If Uraraka is okay, then it was worth it," he smiled. "I'm sorry but if I had to redo it, I'd make the same choice."

"Izuku..." she sighed, rubbing her face. The fatigue of worry was showing in the bags under her eyes.

Noticing her tiredness, he asked, "How long was I—?"

"About a day and a half," the nurse said. "You were in bad shape, but we were able to stabilize you."

"What did I hurt?" Izuku asked.

"Your liver burst, for some reason," she said taking a look at the clipboard. "That's odd, since there was no cut or bruise on the skin... Your leg lost most of the skin layer, but there was no bone or muscle damage. And you had a lot of strange brain activity. Although your heartbeat was normal, the doctors noted rapid pulses in your head."

"W-Wait, my liver?!" Izuku gulped. "How am I—?"

"People can live with less than half of a full liver," she said. "But luckily, it was an easy tear to fix and the doctors expect a full recovery."

Izuku felt his side, and noticed fresh stitches. Looking at his mom, he asked, "Can we afford this?!"

"U.A. is covering it," Inko sighed as she sat down and rubbed her forehead. "You're going to worry me to death, you know that?"

"I'm sorry," he chuckled, then winced and laid back down. "How long will I stay here?"

"Another day at least," the nurse said. "But that's mainly for the doctors to monitor you. In fact, I'll go tell them you're awake."

Once she left, Izuku looked at his mom and asked, "Have you slept at all the last couple of days..?"

"What do you think?" she asked with a deadpan look. Then with a sigh, she said, "Now that you're awake I'm much more at ease... I'll probably go home once we see the doctors again."

"That's probably for the best," he nodded. "Hey Mom. Thanks, I appreciate you."

"Yeah, you'd better," she smiled.

"So... Do you know how things turned out?" he asked. "I don't remember anything since I... y'know, passed out."

"Well I know that they captured a couple of villains and they recovered you and Ochako... But I haven't heard much else."

Izuku grabbed his phone from the table and opened the news tab. He found a story about it, and his eyes widened as he read the headline.

 _All Might Missing in Action After Brawl With Villains! No Comment From His Agency_.

"It's been a couple days?" he asked his mom. "All Might hasn't been... I mean, nobody's seen him since then, even though they've been asking his agency for—"

"Listen honey, about that..." Inko sighed, "I actually got to chat with the detective, Tsukauchi. He came to check up on you yesterday and talk with the doctors, and he told me that you'll be able to meet All Might as soon as you're out of here."

"Really? Did he say anything else?" Izuku leaned forward, then winced and laid back again.

"No, he didn't," she shook her head.

The door opened, and the doctor walked in and smiled.

He asked Izuku a few questions, and gave him a standard check-up. They proceeded with a second scan of his head, and another one of his liver. In the end, they concluded that all he needed was a bit more rest to clear the headache, and they recommended 3-4 weeks without strenuous exercise to give his liver time to heal. He had left by early in the afternoon the next day, and less than an hour later he was in another hospital.

"Hey there Midoriya," Naomasa said as he walked over to meet him. "How are you feeling?"

"A little sore, and my head kinda hurts," he shrugged. "I'm fine. Why does All Might want to meet here?"

"We'll talk more inside," the detective said. He looked up to Inko and asked, "Is it alright if you stay in the waiting room?"

"... I suppose," Inko nodded, "since I know he'll be in All Might's care. Although I would like to know what's going on."

"I'll see if we can make that happen," Naomasa smiled. Turning to Izuku, he motioned down the hall with his hand, "Follow me."

After a minute or so of walking, the two entered a room and the detective closed the door behind them. Izuku's eyes widened as he took in the sight of his teacher, the number one hero. He was in his deflated form, with bandages visible past his medical gown and a few bruises and scrapes. He was wearing a breathing mask and had several tubes hooked up to him.

"Young Midoriya..."

The struggling voice was far too weak to be All Might's, or even Toshinori Yagi's. He patted the seat next to his medical bed. Izuku gulped and slowly walked over to him, and sat down. He met the eyes of his idol, and noticed that they seemed to be the only feature that held the same brightness as before.

"Young Midoriya," he repeated.

"A-All—" Izuku choked on his own throat, too dry and tense to form words. He swallowed and managed a shaky, " _All Might_..."

"You know," the hero smiled, "I couldn't ask for a braver, or a more heroic successor."

"All Might, n-no," Izuku shook his head, "I wasn't heroic at all. I was never even able to _reach_ Uraraka, let alone save her. I was knocked out of commission _and now you're_ —"

"These injuries are not your doing, Young Midoriya," All Might stated, resting a large hand on his student's shoulder. "I took on the responsibility of being a hero, and I went in to save you two. That was my choice. And you risked just as much as I did."

"... How bad is it?" Izuku asked. "Can you still..?"

"Shigaraki was able to use his Quirk on me. He destroyed some of the muscle in my shoulder and..." All Might looked down at the injury on his stomach and rested his hand there, before saying, "He targeted the wound I received six years ago. I was already limited by it, but now... Even once I'm recovered, I may not be able to puff out my chest anymore."

"Y-You... But All Might..." he muttered, squinting his eyes as tears filled them. "N-No, you can't—"

Izuku broke down, sobbing, and All Might put an arm around him and pulled him into a hug. For a few minutes no words were said, and Toshinori allowed his young successor to let out his tears. Eventually Izuku's eyes dried and he pulled away, and he looked up at his teacher.

"All Might," he said with his best attempt at a confident face, "I won't let you down."

"I know," he laughed. "But don't get _too_ dramatic here, it's not like I've died. I'll still see you at U.A. Besides, I'll be helping you learn to control this new power of yours as well."

"Yeah," Izuku nodded with a hint of a smile. "So then... Wait, how did Shigaraki know about your injury?

All Might sighed and his face grew somber as he looked at the the wall. "It's certain now. Before we suspected he returned, but... Only All For One knew of my injury. He must be mentoring Shigaraki. And now that this has happened to me... I'm not sure I'll be able to help you face him."

* * *

Izuku met his mom in the waiting room, who immediately asked, "What's going on? Is everything alright?"

"N-No, not really," Izuku said. "Mom, I want to talk about this more in private."

"Sure honey," she nodded understandingly. "Let's go home and we can talk there."

They took the train home, and Izuku was uncomfortably quiet the whole way. It was understandable, given everything he had to take in. He was planning to tell his mom about All Might's injuries once they were inside, but All For One was a separate matter. He couldn't confide with his mom about it, and he didn't know how to cope with the fact that he'd have to defeat the villain who dealt such a horrible blow to All Might.

Well he planned to worry about it later. For the time being, he started thinking about how he could explain the fact that All Might would have to cease hero work without breaking down into tears again. But before he could get started, as soon as they walked into the apartment, they were greeted by

"Uraraka?! What are you doing here?!" Izuku asked, in shock.

"Oh I forgot, when you went to see All Might with Tsukauchi I let Ochako know that we were gonna come home soon," Inko explained. "I told her where the key was so she could let herself in."

"I wanted to see you as soon as I could, to thank you for saving me," Ochako said, scratching the back of her head. "So, thank you Deku! And I was never able to properly give this to you."

She presented him with the All Might poster and birthday card that she'd bought before she was taken.

"Happy belated birthday!" she smiled.

Izuku couldn't stop himself anymore. He collapsed as the tears rolled down his face, and he violently sobbed as he was embraced by his mother and Ochako.

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

 **Be sure to leave suggestions, feedback, theories, and anything else in the comments! Again, I'm sorry for taking my time with this** **chapter. Hopefully this won't be a problem in the future.**

 **As always, feedback and input are greatly appreciated and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


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